Entwined Fate
by thedreamthiefs
Summary: A young girl's life changes when the Akatsuki comes back to life in her world... FULL SUMMARY INSIDE. Chapters have been edited!
1. Prologue: Something Wicked

**IMPORTANT NOTE: All the chapters have been edited. I hope they're better than before. Turns out, there were quite a few spelling errors as well, so I fixed those up.**

* * *

**Summary: **

17 year old Annie Harker lived a normal life, or as normal as it could be... From a very young age, she has been having strange visions and dreams. Visions of the future, of destruction, uncertainty and a beautiful man with a broken past. On a Summer day, her life changes as a group of ninja called the Akatsuki come back to life in her world, demanding answers to how they have come back to life. Worst of all, they are highly suspicious of Annie because of her powers but also find that she might be useful to the organization and their goals.

Soon enough, Annie and her friends take the biggest risk of their lives; helping a group of S-Ranked criminals. But along the way, Annie discovers shocking truths and secrets that turn her life upside down. Thrown into the chaotic world of Shinobis, Annie must choose between good and evil and help protect the ones she loves.

* * *

_Prologue: Something Wicked_

_"By the pricking of my thumbs, _

_Something wicked this way comes." _

_\- __Macbeth_

* * *

_I see fire, I see death. I see people I don't know, ones I haven't met and ones I don't know even exist._

_I can't escape the dreams, I can't escape these nightmares. I have been losing more and more sleep these past few days because I wake up, every night. I don't know why this happening… And why me? Why is it that I'm the one who has these strange visions and dreams?_

_Something is telling me that maybe something bad will happen. Soon. I don't know exactly when, but every day I get more anxious… Waiting… Waiting for something to happen. The man I've been dreaming about… He's been in these visions more lately, yet I still don't know hi s name. Will I ever get to see him?_

_Who was he? I knew so much about him yet I didn't know his name… He has a younger brother, he had a mother and father as well. _

_But he killed them. He killed his own mother and father and his clan as well… I saw it all, it was nightmare. I still can never forget what I saw, how he had mercilessly killed them all._

_Now, he is part of a group called the Akatsuki._

_There must be answer or some hidden truth to why I have these visions. The man in my dreams and visions, I need to find him, whoever he is._

_Because… Maybe he is the one that can help me find the answers I seek._


	2. Summer Break

Chapter 1: Summer Break

The sun shone brightly, the warm Summer heat seeming to burn through the black seats of jeep. Only the lightest breeze blew through the school parking lot and Annie sighed, running a hand through her hair. The radio was playing quietly as she looked at her phone.

"Today is the last day of classes for the school district," The radio host said, Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes at his forced enthusiasm. "It looks like it's going to another great and hot Summer! The next few days or so are supposed to be about 30 degrees, so make sure to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water!"

"That's if I actually go outside and do something fun," Annie grumbled, she looked at her reflection in the rear view mirror. Her skin was ivory, pale, and her eyes a vibrant, yet light green, flecked with gold. Her hair was naturally a fiery red color, but she had dyed it dark brown for the sake of getting less of the 'ginger' or 'Tomato' comment... But most of the kids at school seemed to like calling her 'Red chili'. People had made fun of her for her red hair, while others said it was beautiful and unique. Of course, she grew too frustrated of the rude comments she got and always hiding her hair under a hat was not an option. Much to her mother's dismay, she decided to dye it the most common hair color, a dark chocolate brown.

The Comox Valley was a region, residing on Vancouver Island, B.C, Canada. The region consisted of the city of Courtenay, where Annie lived, the Town of Comox and the Village of Cumberland. Farther out, on the way to the city Campbell River were Merville and Black Creek, they were 'unincorporated settlements' that were also part of the Comox Valley. South of that, there was Royston, Union Bay and Fanny Bay, along with Hornby Island and Denman Island. A few of Annie's classmates and people she knew from Middle school resided on these islands, her parents had considered buying a second home, or a 'Vacation' home there. Luckily, they decided to buy a house in Tofino instead. She had lived in 'The Valley' for her whole life, it was a small town, compared to a city like Victoria or Vancouver. Of course, since it was a small town, there wasn't much to do, as most people seemed to say. Despite this, Annie didn't mind how small it was, she didn't mind that there was a calm and peaceful atmosphere in the city, she loved it.

She lived outside of the city. Her house resided on what her parents would call the 'Countryside' of town, her house was a large house, ridiculously large in her opinion. Her grandfather had built the house, like his son, he was an avid hunter and was a Charter accountant as well. Fortunately, her family did make quiet a bit of money considering their careers, despite how cliche it might sound. While her father was an RCMP officer and a former soldier of the Canadian Armed Forces, her mother was a doctor.

It was one thing to have a Doctor for a parent, but having a Police officer as your father made things more... Difficult. Her father was fiercely overprotective, along with her mother as well. Even worse, almost all her family were Pentecostal Christians. Not that Annie had anything against Christians or Religion in general, but going to Church even though you're an Agnostic Athiest was not pleasant.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as her phone vibrated, a text message most likely. She tapped the screen of her iPhone to open the text message and read it.

_Hey, are you in the parking lot?_

The message was from her friend Zana, she replied with a casual 'yeah'. But before she sent it, something or someone jumped into the passenger seat, making her drop her phone in shock. When Annie saw who it was, she rolled her eyes, seeing that it was Zana, who was laughing hysterically. It was typical of Zana to pull pranks, or attempt to pull pranks on people for her utter amusement. Though Annie would frequently tell her not to do it in school, because it might get her in trouble. She didn't want any of her friends to get expelled from school, like she did.

"Surprise!" Zana yelled, grinning from ear to ear. "It's the last day of school!"

"No shit sherlock," Annie said, lightly punching her in the arm. "Why else would everyone be excited, because it's the first day of school?"

"No, the first day of school is like going to a funeral." Zana remarked. Like Annie, she was 17, her dark brown hair was short and she wore it down today. She was about 5'6" with light brown skin, Annie had always wished she had darker skin, like Zana's... Her skin was so pale that she almost always felt like a ghost beside Zana. They had been friends since middle school, along with her best friend Tara, who she had known since Pre-school.

Annie slipped her phone into her purse. "I guess we should get to class, eh? Don't want to be late for the last day of classes."

"We have about 15 minutes," Zana shrugged. "But maybe we should head inside, Tara's probably waiting for us somewhere. Besides, who cares if we're late? It's the last day of school!"

They both stepped out of the car and headed inside the school. G.P. Vanier Secondary School, one of the three high schools in the Comox Valley. It was a nice high school, good teachers and good programs. Minus the fact that like almost every high school, most of the students would be stoned, the guys were from certain sports teams were douche bags and then there were the typical cliques. But most of all, there was always some kind of drama around each corner, as if the grade 9 girls craved it. It was the same as every day of the year, some of the Football players wandered the hallways aimlessly and girls would gossip by the lockers. Amidst all of it, Annie spotted Tara and her boyfriend Billy waiting by Annie's locker. They waved at her and Zana when they saw them approaching. Tara was about as tall as her, around 5'4", thin, with long wild curly hair. She was one of those people who could eat as much as she wanted and not gain a single pound, Annie envied her for this. Though she had never been too fond of her boyfriend Billy, he had short, curly, messy brown hair and always wore distressed dirty jeans and baggy t-shirts. He sometimes smelled like pot, Annie was used to the smell but it didn't mean that she liked it.

"It's the last day of hell," She said, opening her locker and throwing some of her text books in it. "Then next year, it we'll be in Grade 12... Our last year. Thank Goodness."

Tara grinned. "Well after today we're celebrating... We still down to go to Stotem falls right? Is Sam coming as well?"

Sam did not go to their school, she went to a different high school in town called Mark Isfeld, which was up in Comox. Annie had first met her in Elementary school, but then she moved out of town, but came back to the Comox valley in grade 7. They had discussed plans to hang out after class, but they weren't sure of what exactly to do, considering there wasn't much to do in a small town like the Comox Valley. Except going to Comox Lake or Stotem Falls or Nymph falls, even Barber's Hole was nice. Maybe they could go there later in the Summer, Annie thought.

"I'll shoot her a text, but I'm sure she will be able to come," Annie explained, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Honestly… Later on this summer we should do something fun, like go to Tofino or Vancouver… Something like that."

"Go on random adventure? Sounds good to me," Tara shrugged, smirking. "I mean we have all Summer... We could do lots of fun stuff! But I'm down for going to Tofino."

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of classes. If there was something that Annie wouldn't miss, it was the annoying bell… It was more like a long beep that seemed to make your ears hurt when it rang. People made their way to class, not rushing since it was the last day of school. Annie, Tara, Zana and Billy stayed at her locker, Annie absently played with her hair while leaning against the locker. She would not miss this school for the next two months... School had made her anxious and lately, Annie had been feeling much more anxious than usual.

But maybe it wasn't school that was making Annie more restless than usual, it was something else...

"Did your dad leave town?" Tara asked.

"Yeah…" Annie said, shaking her head to dismiss her thoughts. While her dad was an RCMP officer he was also a member of the E.R.T. Canada's version of a 'SWAT' team. "He went to Halifax to help teach new E.R.T recruits or something."

"Sounds fun," Zana yawned. "I don't want to get yelled at for being late to class, so I'll see you guys later."

With a wave, Zana, Tara and Billy left, leaving Annie by herself. She closed her locker, but froze. Everything before her had started to go blurry and instead of seeing the dull gray lockers, she was seeing flashes of some sort of vision… She saw red eyes with a strange pattern in them, a man with an orange mask, a woman with red hair... And the same man she had seen so many times before, the man with long black hair and Coal black eyes, crying... She had seen him so many times before, but she never could find out his name.

'_Why is this happening?' _she thought, this wasn't the first time it happened, but she could never figure out why it happened. Who were these people that she saw in her visions? Did these visions and dreams mean something important? _'I'm just a normal girl. Nothing extraordinary or strange about me. Maybe I'll stop having these strange dreams and visions. Please let them stop... Let them stop...'_

"ANNIE HARKER!" She whipped her head around to see Mr. Young standing at the end of the hallway, his arms crossed. "You're late for class, get moving!"

_'You don't always have to be snapping at people to get to class!' _She wanted to snap at him, but instead, she rolled her eyes. Making sure that Mr. Young would see and headed off to her class, which was English. Even when she walked into the class room, the teacher wasn't there. _'Typical of Mr. Olson not to be here yet, he's probably talking about his life changing journey to India or some shit.'_

Annie slumped into her seat, saying hello to her friends who sat beside her. She couldn't help but look at the clock, the time was about 9:03 AM, and she groaned, hoping that this day would go by fast...

* * *

"Jesus christ Tara, stop that!"

Tara grinned evilly. "Stop what?"

"Poking me!" Zana complained. "Stop poking me!"

Annie laughed at her friends, as they continued to tease each other by throwing things at each other. Typical, immature behavior of them. She flipped open her notebook, clicking her pen and then started to write.

_June 26 2011_

_Today is the last day of school, it feels like this day couldn't have come any faster. The past few months have been hell, making the time seem to go by slowly. But I am thankful for my friends for getting me through these past few months, Dad especially. Mom has been away on a Missionary trip to India, so Dad's been very protective. He's_ _always__ been very protective of me, but as I get older, his fear of letting me go or something happening to me, seems to grow more. I am 17 years old now, but I still have a curfew, I am not allowed to go to any parties on the weekend. _

_But I guess that's not really the point… Dad's now away in Halifax for ERT training, he's helping to train new recruits. I'm surprised he didn't drag me along with him, but he trusted me enough to stay here by myself. He left yesterday, but will call me every day pretty much to make sure I'm okay. I'll be okay though… I mean, nothing big or life changing is going to happen this summer anyways, things are just gonna be the same… Boring and not exciting in general._

She felt someone peeking over her shoulder, it was Zana. "What are you writing Annie?"

"Your obituary," Annie snapped. "If you don't stop looking over my damn shoulder."

"Oh, you weren't writing a love letter to someone?" Tara laughed while Zana muttered something under her breath. Annie lightly punched Tara in the arm, snickering as Tara dramatically yelled in pain.

The bell rang, Annie quickly shoved her notebook and her sketchpad in her bag, making her way out of the classroom. She screeched to a halt thought as she realized she forgot her book on the table, she ran back and grabbed it, hugging her copy of _City Of Fallen Angels _to her chest. _The Mortal Instruments _was a book series she adored, centering around the life of a girl named Clary, who thought she was normal but finds out she is a Shadowhunter. They were humans born with Angel blood, sworn to protect human kind from demons. There were vampires, werewolves, faeries, mermaids, warlocks and other mythical creatures as well. Annie wished sometimes she was like Clary and would find herself on a crazy, unexpected adventure of mysteries and magic. But when she told her friends about his, they would make fun of her, telling her she day dreamed too much.

"Have a good Summer break Annie," Mrs. Thomas smiled at her as she ran out of the room, Annie only waved back at her, hurrying to catch up with her friends.

'_Tch, yeah, we will… I guess.' _Annie thought as she walked down the hallway, with Zana and Tara by her side. They separated to go to their own lockers, but would meet back at Annie's car.

She opened up her locker, when she heard someone giggling nearby. It was as if they were laughing at her and when she turned around, her stomach seemed to flip. It was Savannah, her former best friend, along with her two former friends, Bryson and Chloe. They were not just considered ex-bestfriends but enemies, though Annie never understood why they hated her so much. During the year, they would do anything to make Annie uncomfortable or to hurt her feelings, either by harassing her in the hallways or sending her rude messages on _Facebook. _Under confusing and unknown circumstances, Savannah stopped talking to Annie, cutting her out of her life completely. Then, she got her two friends Bryson and Chloe to turn their backs on her for whatever reason.

It sounded like some typical, cliche high school horror story, of course. But it was true, they had turned their backs on Annie and she never understood why. It had hurt because Savannah was her best friend, almost like a sister to her. Now she treated Annie as if she was some ugly insect, intending to hurt her as much as possible.

"Hey Annie," She smirked. "I head your parents are away for the summer, are you gonna go home and cry because they're gone?"

"My Mom's saving people's lives in India and my Dad's training recruits in Ontario. Gosh, that's so upsetting to me, they're both doing so much for the world," Annie hissed, her voice stuttered. She hated how nervous she got when they approached her, why couldn't she just have the guts to stand up for herself without sounding scared? Sure, she could be sassy with other people, but when it came to bullies, Annie was not as good at standing up for herself... Or maybe she simply didn't want to bother with them, instead she would choose to walk away from them.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Wow, you finally said something to me... Instead of running away from me like you always do."

"You know, I'm being the better person by walking away from you. You think you can go around talking shit about people, trying to tear them apart? It doesn't make you cool Savannah. I know how much you love seeing me angry, but I'm not giving you the satisfaction of seeing me upset." Annie slammed her locker door, stepping closer to Savannah. "I have other things in my life to worry about. In fact, I have other things that are worth more of my time than you. You were a waste of time to begin with anyways. So I'm going to walk away and pretend that you never existed, so if you have anything else to say, don't bother saying it. Because I won't be listening anymore."

Straitening her back and lifting her chin, she pushed past Savannah, flashing a fake, friendly smile at Bryson and Chloe. Annie did not dare look back at them and she didn't need to.

When she reached the parking lot, she was smiling, proud that she stood up for herself. She had never really stood up for herself before, because her dad had told her to ignore people who said rude things to her, and Annie was always afraid of the insults thrown her way. Maybe she was afraid that she would lash out because of her short temper. But she wasn't angry, her heart was beating faster, everything seemed to be more clear; maybe it was excitement. Whatever it was, it was the best feeling in the world.

Zana and Tara were leaning against her jeep as she walked over to them. "What took you so long?"

"The bitch, Savannah, tried to harass me again," Annie explained, unlocking the Jeep door. "But I think I told her off."

"You should have just punched her in the goddamn face," Tara whined. "God, I think it would improve her face, considering how ugly she is."

They laughed, throwing their bags in the car and getting in. Annie started the car and turned on the music, driving away from the school. She smiled as Zana and Tara sang along to _Bohemian Rhapsody_, maybe the Summer break wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

To their surprise, there were many people at Stotem falls today, walking down to the small pools of water or jumping off the 10 foot high cliff. It was one of the best ways to celebrate the end of school and the beginning of Summer break, apparently. But it was better than nothing, Annie supposed. She grinned, watching a young boy jump off the cliff, it wasn't the most highest cliff, but it was better than nothing.

"Let me guess…" Sam said, looking at Annie with raised eyebrows "You want to jump?"

"Of course," Said Annie. "Hey, you look like a ghost Sam!"

Sam's skin was pale, a porcelain color. Her hair was black and shoulder length, and her eyes were an icy blue. She was Annie's height and usually wore dark colors. People would have thought she was a goth kid, but that was a common stereotype for people who liked to wear dark colors a lot and were quiet. Compared to Zana and Annie, she was more quiet, an introvert, but she also was an artist like Annie.

"I wanna jump as well!" Tara chirped, she turned to Zana. "Zana what about you?"

"Fuck no!" Zana wailed, causing a few people to look at her strangely. "I will not! I'm afraid of heights, remember?"

"You know Zana, you're not going to overcome that fear unless you face it," Annie explained casually. "Hey, it reminds of a quote that I read in a book... Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up."

Zana rolled her eyes. "There you go, repeating book qoutes as always... Also,you're a thrill seeker and I'm not!"

"Come on, you should at least jump!" Sam said "it's only 10 feet high anyways, that's nothing!"

Without anymore questions, Annie grabbed Zana's hand and they made their way down to the cliff. Zana protested trying to yank free of Annie's grasp but she only laughed as she dragged her along. The walk down had been tough due to the many rocks, but Annie didn't mind it. There were only a few people by the cliff, most of the people at the falls were swimming in the pools or sun bathing on the dry rock faces.

Annie peered over the edge of the cliff, from afar it didn't look high, but when you look down from the top it looks higher. No wonder Zana was afraid of heights, it always looked higher than it really was. The highest cliff Annie had ever jumped off was a 90 ft one, she loved cliff jumping.

"It really isn't that bad Zana," Annie explained to her. "If it makes you feel better, I jump off cliffs much higher than this!"

Zana groaned, waving a hand at her. "... And you've gone bungee jumping, zip lining, and a bunch of other crazy shit... What else is new?"

"So, you're gonna go Zana?" Tara asked. "We'll go first if it makes you feel better."

"Well, you're gonna pull that whole 'if we go first, then you have to go' bullshit," she groaned. "I'll just go, why the fuck not? You guys won't stop bugging me till I do, anyways.'

Tara, Sam and Annie cheered in victory, yelling as Zana made her way to the cliff edge. She peered over it just to see how high it was, then looked over at them with an annoyed expression.

"You guys so owe me for this," Zana yelled, and without looking again, she ran and jumped off the cliff. There was a loud scream, but it was cut off by the sound of her body hitting the water.

Annie grinned with excitement. "I'M GOING NEXT!"

Without hesitating, she bolted towards the cliff edge, throwing her whole body forward as she jumped off the cliff. For a moment, time seemed to slow as she plunged towards the water, the coldness of the water sent a shiver down her spine but as she emerged from the water, she only laughed.

"Your turn, Sam and Tara!" She hollered, Sam went first, screaming as she jumped off the cliff. Tara hesitated for a moment before she jumped.

Annie had decided to go again, this time doing a front flip off the cliff instead. The other girls laid on the dry flat rocks that were along the falls. After a few more times of jumping off the cliff, Annie decided to go sit down with them.

"Not high enough for you?" Sam asked, turning her head to the other side to look at her.

"Yeah, not high enough…" Annie smirked, smoothing her wet hair back from her face. "Something higher would definitely be better."

"What are we going to do after this?" Tara asked.

Annie checked her phone, it was almost 5:00 PM. "I was thinking that we could go back to my place and watch a movie. When do you guys want to go?"

"I'm fine with going now," Zana yawned. "We're crashing at your place by the way."

"Sounds good to me," Said Annie. "Let's go."

They drove back to Annie's house, relishing the warm Summer breeze. At least the last of it, the sun had disappeared behind dark grey clouds. As they pulled into the driveway, she turned the music off. She froze, looking around, something did not feel right and she didn't know why she felt worried all of a sudden. The sky was grey, the sun disappearing behind the dark clouds. Everything seemed normal, but something felt off...

"What the hell… I'm cold," Tara whined/ "What's up with this weather?"

Annie looked up at the sky, behind her backyard was a field and a forest beyond that. The clouds were darker there, she swore she saw flash of lightning. "Let's go inside, I think it might start to rain."

It had started to rain as soon as they got inside, Annie slammed the door, locking it. Her dog, a German Shepard named Otis, came bounding down the steps. Her house was big, the entrance was more of a foyer, the first floor stretched out in front to where the exercise room was, just above it was the living room and kitchen, two sets of stairs on each side leading up to it. They made their way up to the kitchen, Annie dropped her purse on the counter as she looked in the fridge for something to eat. Zana, Sam and Tara went into the living room, chatting among themselves. She did not know why, but as she looked outside through the window, Annie suddenly felt afraid.

"Um, Annie?" Sam asked quietly, walking into the kitchen.

"What?" She said, opening the fridge and taking a look inside. Among all the food in it, only a few things stood out to her. Chocolate milk, half of a watermelon, left over steaks and leftover apple crisp. Apple crisp didn't sound bad, her Mom made the best apple crisp.

"Did you leave the sliding door open?"

Annie froze. Closing the fridge door, she walked into the living room, the thought of food and apple crisp forgotten. The sliding door _was _indeed left open, the white curtains blowing softly from the wind. She couldn't help but stare, trying to figure out if she even left it open.

"I closed it this morning," She said, remembering that she did in fact close it. "I… Closed it and locked it. I swore that I did, anyways."

"Maybe one of your maids was here?" Tara suggested. "Like, to clean the house before the Summer break-"

"No, that's not possible. My mom stopped hiring maids to clean the house awhile ago," Annie spoke quietly, trying to think of how or why that door was open.

All four girls were silent, looking at each other and at the door. The house was quiet but Annie only started to feel more anxious and afraid. _'Maybe Dad opened it and forgot to close it before he left... Maybe I did forget to close it.' _She thought as she looked outside. The rain only started to pour harder, the wind blowing harder than before. She went to close the door, but Sam grabbed her arm.

"Annie, look…" She pointed out to where the forest was. All of a sudden it had stopped raining. The clouds drifted together, forming a circle that revealed the clear, blue sky in the middle of it.

"That… Doesn't look normal," Annie pointed out, her voice barely a whisper. She gripped the handle of the door, her palms beginning to sweat.

They all jumped as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the sky, suddenly a flash of lightning struck the forest trees from the circle of clouds. But this lightning was not normal either, it was brighter, the brightest lightning Annie had ever seen. Sam, Zana and Tara screamed as the house shook from the force of the lightning, the stark, white light blinding them.

"THAT DEFINITELY IS NOT NORMAL!" Zana yelled, the house starting to shake even more from the storm.

Annie had lost her balance and fell to the floor, lying face first and pressing her face into the wooden floor. She closed her eyes, hoping that whatever was happening, would be over soon. She opened her eyes, and then it all stopped. Everything was silent again, as if nothing had even happened.

When she looked outside again, the clouds were now starting to separate the letting the sun shine through. She stood up, opening the door wider and walking outside. Sam followed her but Zana and Tara still stood inside, afraid to go out there.

"What are you doing Annie?" Sam asked. Hesitantly, she stepped outside and then followed Annie. "I really don't have a good feeling about this…"

"I'm going to look over there, did you see that lightning? It wasn't normal, and it struck down into the forest there," Annie explained, she climbed over the fence and made her way into the field. "One of you guys stay in the house."

"I'm staying, I'm not going out there," Tara yelled, heading back into the house. As Tara went back into the house, Sam and Zana continued walking, heading into the forest. The dirt was cool and damp beneath Annie's bare feet, droplets of water fell on her from the trees. The path they walked was one that she had walked many times before, but she never walked too far into this forest, especially by herself.

Suddenly the whole ground shook again, shaking the trees. The forest floor seemed to groan, but then everything went silent. The three girls stood still, Annie's heart beginning to beat faster as she slowly started to walk again. Sam and Zana hesitated but they followed her, walking as quietly as they could.

There was the sound of soft rustling of leaves and the distance snap of a twig, Annie stopped looking around. She thought she heard a voice, she headed to her left, where she heard it from.

She kept walking, but then she squeaked as she stepped on something… An arm. When she looked down, she gasped.

A young man laid unconscious on the ground, his hair was black, long and tied into a pony tail. In the corners of his eyes ran two creases down to his pale cheeks. He was handsome, no, beautiful. But it was not this that made Annie freeze.

She had seen this man before. It was the same man from her vision before and many other visions before that one.

She had not seen him in real life, but in many of her dreams. She lost count of how many times she had seen him in them now, but he had always appeared into her dreams or visions. His face, she had remembered but his name she could not remember.

"Annie?" She whipped her head around to see Sam and Zana standing there, observing the scene. "Who the hell is that?"

"I… Don't really know…" Annie said quietly, she touched his neck to feel for a pulse. It was there, he was still breathing. "But he's still alive…"

Under her touch, he moved but his eyes remained shut. He moaned only one name. "Sasuke..."

_'Sasuke...?' _The name sounded strangely familiar to Annie, though she didn't remember where she heard it. _'Who is Sasuke?"_

"Then we should bring him inside the house," Sam said as calmly as she could, looking at the unconscious man. "Where do you think he came from? Look at the way he's dressed… His clothes are strange. So I don't think he is from here."

"Guys…" Zana had gone strangely pale. "I have a bad feeling about this… We should go back, like,_ right now_."

"Okay... Help us lift him up, Zana." Said Annie. "I can't lift him myself, so you're going to have to help carry him."

Zana shook her head. "N-No! We shouldn't bring him…"

"Why?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because… He seems dangerous." Zana said more quietly, her voice barely a whisper. "Oh god… Did you hear that? I think we're not alone!"

"Zana, calm down," Annie snapped, rolling her eyes. "Everything's fine. We just need-"

"ANNIE! DUCK!"

She whirled around, but screamed as something hurtled towards her. She threw herself to the ground, the object making a loud 'thud' as it pierced into the tree. For a few seconds, she laid there, her eyes squeezed tight and her heart hammering in her chest. Annie dared to glance up, seeing a three bladed scythe pierced into the tree, it's blades were a blood red and for a moment she thought they were coated with slick blood.

"Zana? Sam?" She yelled, standing up she looked around but when she turned around, she faced someone else. His eyes were a magenta color and his hair silver and slicked back, he donned a long black cloak with red clouds. She gasped, she had seen this man before as well, but only in her dreams."You're… Not Sam… Or Zana."

The man smirked, a malicious and dangerous one. "I don't know who the fuck they are. Who the hell are you by the way?"

"Who are you?" She asked, she knew that she should be afraid, but found herself suddenly irritated by this stranger. _'Well, I already know who you are... But I probably shouldn't say that I do...'_

"Hidan, of the Akatsuki…" His hand reached for the long handle of the scythe, she noticed that it was attached to a rope which was held in his other hand. "Which leaves me with a question… Where the fuck am I?"

"I don't know who the hell the Akatsuki is… And you're in Courtenay, B.C… Canada," She growled, standing up straighter as she looked him in the eyes. _'I will not be afraid...'_

Hidan growled, taking the scythe, he held the blade under Annie's chin. She froze as the sharp blade pierced the pale skin of her throat. "I'm telling you the truth."

"You're a lying bitch!" He roared. "Tell me the truth or I'll sacrifice you."

"If you kill me, you won't get to know the truth!" Annie spat back, she was surprised with herself. Under normal circumstances, she should run away, but she decided to stand up for her self. Besides, this man was, he pissed her off. "Now, you're on EARTH. In a country called Canada, the province you're in is called British Columbia and the city we're in is called the Comox Valley, or Courtenay… Whichever one you prefer. Does that sound better to you, bitch?"

He sneered, his magenta eyes slitted in a cold glare. He raised his scythe, about to bring it down on Annie when someone yelled.

"Stop, Hidan."

Just behind him stood another man, wearing the same black cloak with red clouds. But this man was tall, over Six feet, his irises were green and the rest of his eyes were red, where they should have been white. He wore a black mask over his mouth, and a white cloth over the rest of his head.

Hidan growled, clearly irritated at being interrupted. "What the fuck do you want, Kakuzu?"

"Don't kill her," He spat. "She's a hostage, after we get information from her we can kill her."

"Kill her? Or then kill her and then sell her body?" Hidan snorted, Kakuzu seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to Annie who know sat on the ground, her back against a tree. She shuddered as he stared at her, observing her.

"Maybe…" He said, he walked towards Annie. She stiffened as he crouched down in front of her, his face just inches away from hers. There was no doubt that he was more than willing to kill her or worse, torture her. "What's your name?"

It took a few seconds for her speak, too stunned to say anything. "A… Annie Harker…"

"Annie Harker… Never heard of the name Harker," He said, she noticed Hidan rolling his eyes as he leaned against his scythe.

"I…" She stuttered. "That's my real name. I swear, I'm not lying to you, I don't know who the hell you guys are… But please, just listen to me, if there's anything-"

"Shut up." His hand grasped her throat and she gasped, attempting to pull away, but his grip was strong "I have no time for this, Leader-sama wants us back, we'll bring the girl with us."

Annie attempted to open her mouth to say something, but screamed as he raised his first, bringing it down to her head. Pain shook through her body, everything seemed to go out of focus and then the world around her went black.


	3. Shinobi

Chapter 2: Shinobi

_She awoke in the dark, lying on a cool, damp stone floor. A foul stench clung in the cool air, it was not pleasant smell. It was the smell of blood, the smell of death. She struggled to sit up, her whole body aching and her head pounding. 'I'm dreaming... I must be dreaming."_

_With much effort, Annie got to her feet, her eyes adjusting to the dark. In the distance, a light shone through the building. She was in a cell, but the door was left open. Slowly, she walked towards the light at the end of the hall. She couldn't tell whether it lead outside or not, it was just a bright white light._

_When she walked through, her eyes were at first blinded by the intense light. But the light faded and she was now in a forest, the sky was blue and the heat of the Summer burned down on her skin. It was hot but at the same time it was comforting, as if she was safe out here in the forest, where there was no danger to fear._

_In front__ of her, he stood. Staring at her, he was beautiful, as he always was in her dreams. His long raven black hair was untied, reaching past his shoulders. His red eyes with the strange black patterns bore into her soul, the color of them stood out against his ivory skin. _

"_Annie," He said softly, his voice was neither rough or gentle. But when he said her name, it was smooth as silk._

"_Who are you? What's your name?" She asked, stepping towards him._

_He opened his mouth to speak, but no words were spoken. It was as if he was trying to say something, but she couldn't hear it._

_But the words had already escaped her own lips "Itachi…" She spoke softly and then gasped._

"_Itachi Uchiha."_

She felt like she was falling, as something hit her hard and woke her up. Annie groaned, wincing at the searing pain that was in her head. A dream, it must have just been some terrible dream. _'Oh crap... This cannot be happening, maybe this is all just a bad dream...'_

"I-I'm… Still dreaming…." She tried to reassure herself. But someone laughed, followed by a few snickers and whispering voices. She felt her stomach flip. No, she wasn't dreaming, this was reality and she was afraid to open her eyes.

"Keep wishing that…" The voice spoke, it was a rough voice. Annie gasped as someone smacked her across the face, grabbing her chin forcefully. "Wake up, look at us! We don't really have time to sit around all day after all. We need a goddamn explanation."

Whoever it was, slapped her again across the face. _'Really? This guy has no patience whatsoever... I should hit him to teach him a lesson.'_

She yelped, trying to move but realized that she was tied to a chair, her wrists and ankles bound. Her vision was blurry, but as soon her eyes adjusted, she gasped at the sight in front her. She blinked once, twice, wondering if it what she was seeing was just her imagination, but she remained frozen, in fear and shock. Annie should scream, should cry for help, but there was nothing she could do

_'No... This can't be... How could it be that my dreams are coming true? This is not supposed to happen,' _She thought, her heart pounding faster in her chest. She had seen these strangers that stood before her, she had visions about them... She saw them die. Now they were alive.

_'Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, Pain, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, Tobi, Kisame Hoshigaki and..." _She dared to glance at the black haired man, who stared back at her with such an intense gaze she had to look away. _'... Itachi Uchiha.'_

All 10 f them stood in her living room, they wore the same cloaks as the first two she encountered in the forest. The man who slapped her had blue skin and the features of a shark, when he stood he was tall, over six feet like Kakuzu... Kisame Hoshigaki looked even more terrifying in real life.. On either side of her, Tara, Zana and Sam sat, all tied to their chairs. All of them were silent, not daring to speak even one word. But Zana looked enraged and Sam looked like she was about to cry, but now wasn't the time to cry or scream, because if they did, then these people would probably kill them.

Despite, her fear, Annie looked up and glared at Kisame, already not liking him. _'Kisame Hoshigaki... But I have to pretend to not know who he is.' _She couldn't help but glare at him, hissing through her teeth. "Thank you for the nice wake up call.. You know, it's not very polite to hit a lady. Didn't your mother teach you that?"

"Hmph," He growled, glaring back at her. Her bared his sharp teeth at her, causing her to shiver in fear. "Those rules or courtesies don't apply to me, kid."

"Kid? Of course I am one, I'm 17 years old and you're not considered an adult till you're around 18. So thanks for stating the obvious," Annie stated, sarcastically. "Also, I have a name you know, It's..."

"Annie Harker." It was Itachi who spoke, his voice sharp. She almost gasped as he spoke, not sure what to say to him or to even think of him. He stared at her, almost curiously, yet his eyes glowered in what seemed to be suspicion. Annie's heart started pounding as she stared at him. _'He really is beautiful,' _she thought, but looked away, ashamed to be thinking of such things in this situation. She couldn't tell him that she knew who he was, that for years, she had been having visions and dreams of him. But as she looked back at him, she swore that the way he looked at her said that he knew that.

_'But damn... He's good looking... A hot moody guy wakes up in my backyard... Sounds like the beginning of YA novel.' _Annie almost giggled at the thought.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, she had barely remembered what happened before she was knocked out. But then she realized that she might have told them her name, whoever it was that knocked her out. Instead, Annie decided to use her sarcasm, maybe that would help. "Oh right... The asshole who knocked me out must have told you. But you can also call me 'Bitch' or 'Fire breathing bitch' if you want.'

"Interesting question, but… I'd like to know how you know my name," He said, at these words, Annie froze, her stomach dropping.

"I…" She spoke, but the words wouldn't come. "That's… A little... Hard to explain…"

"That question can be answered later," A voice spoke, a man with orange hair and many piercings moved towards her. Up close, Annie noticed that he had strange silver eyes with many ring patterns surrounding his irises. "Where are we? And why are we alive? Tell us the truth."

_'This is their leader, Pain...' _Annie thought. But Sam spoke before she could.

"You're… I mean, we are in a town called Courtenay, in the province of B.C., or British Columbia," She said, trying to act as calm as possible. "In the country Canada… As for your second question, I don't know the answer."

"Canada?" It was a woman who spoke this time, the only woman in the group of strangers. She had blue hair with a paper flower pinned into it and honey colored eyes. _Konan._ "I've never heard of such a country… Is this true?"

"I think it's bullshit, un," A man with long blond hair and blue eyes spoke, he wore his hair half up and half of it covered his left eye. Annie almost laughed, this one was Deidara, the notorious terrorist. "What country are we _really _in? The land of Fire? The Land of Iron?"

"… Or are we in the land of Earth, or the land of Lightning?" Hidan said, clearly looking impatient. "Just tell us which one we are in, because I'm really fucking sick of your lies. If you don't tell us the truth, I will rip your fucking eyes-"

"We're in the land of Rainbows and Unicorns," Tara said saracastically, cutting off what Hidan was saying. When she was responded to with numerous glares, she flushed. "Sorry, I was being sarcastic. Like, we're actually in the Comox Valley... Like, legit, in the Comox Valley."

"Tara... I think it's best that we refrain from using sarcasm right now," Annie hissed at her. "Let's just try to be calm and think clearly."

"Really Annie? You're telling me to keep calm when there's a bunch of psychopaths in the room?" Tara cried. "I mean look at that fucking guy over there, he looks like some fucking ying yang plant?"

The man or thing that Tara was talking about was standing in the corner, he had green hair, one half of his body was white and the other was white, with a huge venus fly traps around his body. **"A ying yang plant?"** His black half spoke, but then his white half spoke."Just ignore her…"

"Honestly, I have never heard of the Land of Fire, or the land of lightning and the other ones… And I have never seen a man that looks like a shark or plant man like him," Annie spoke, even though what she was saying was a lie. "Here we have seven continents and 196 countries. We are in North America, which is one of the continents, and as Sam said, we are in the country Canada... On the planet called 'Earth', just thought I should clarify, even though we're obviously not on Mars..."

The orange haired man frowned. "Really? So you're saying we're in a different world?"

"Pain, that may be it," Itachi spoke, his eyes scanning the room. "Look at this house, and what we saw outside… None of this I have ever seen in this world."

"But… How?" Said Zana. "That's scientifically impossible isn't it?"

"You'd think it is, but it's said in science theory that there are many different galaxies… But different universes?" Annie asked. "I don't know… If that's… Scientifically possible."

Sam shook her head. "The universe is messed up. Whoever or whatever made this universe, was creative."

"Creative enough to make a different world?" Zana muttered.

All of the cloaked strangers looked at them oddly, it was then Annie didn't realized she should probably be asking them who they were. She couldn't tell them everything about her visions, not yet anyways. "Okay, well… Who are you guys? Where did you come from?"

"We are the Akatsuki," Pain explained. "We are an organization of what they called us 'S-classed criminals' from the Shinobi world."

"Okay, so you're dangerous, murderous criminals." Annie nodded, trying not to sound afraid. "So how did you end up here?"

All of them were quiet, but then Itachi spoke. "I'm supposed to be dead… I was dead. Or so I thought, and then we ended up here, I don't know how exactly how we got here."

"I… Was dead as well," Kisame spoke, frowning. "What the hell… So we died but then we ended up here?"

"It seems that way," Pain said quietly, still looking at Annie.

"What?" Annie said, and they looked at her. _'Should I tell them the truth... Should I tell them that I saw them die?' _she shook her head. "There's no way… No one can die and then come back to life… Right?"

"It is possible," Pain said coolly. "I assume it doesn't happen here?"

"No... I mean dying in one world and waking up alive in another? That seems impossible, but you know, the world is full of mysteries." Annie explained, she tried to move but the rope only chafed against her arms uncomfortably. "But I've seen it in these dreams I have… If you just let me explain-"

"What the fuck is she talking about?!" Hidan yelled, pointing a finger at her. "This bitch is crazy!"

"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu snapped. "As much as I don't like this, we should probably listen to her."

Everyone went silent, and then they were all looking at her. Annie's heart pounded in her chest, how could she explain her visions to these criminals? She had never once told Zana or Sam that she had visions of the future, she only told them that she had strange dreams. She took a deep breath. "This is going to sound crazy, hell, I sound like I'm crazy... But I've had these strange visions my whole life, I realized what they were not too long ago... And now I know. I've been having visions of the future... I saw you in my dream, Pain. I saw you die. But it wasn't really a dream… It was just like some sort of vision that came to my mind out of no where. This is not the first time it's happened by the way, it's been happening my whole life. But I've been afraid to tell anybody, because no one would believe me... And even if I did say, I would be forced into a Mental Institution or something."

"Last year..." She breathed. "On this same day, I had a vision of someone dying... And then it happened, I've told no one since. I've kept it a secret because no one has these kinds of power in this world."

The Akatsuki all had their eyes on her, as if they were unsure on whether to believe her or not. Hidan muttered something to Kakuzu who only seemed to ignore him and Itachi stared at her, she tried not to look at him, feeling uncomfortable. For years, she didn't know what the dreams and visions meant... Until now, she could see the future. No normal person would believe that she could see the future, but maybe the Akatsuki would believe her. Some of them looked at each other than back to her, looking at her so intently, as if they were studying her.

"So... You can see visions of the future? You saw someone die?" Tara said, sounding flabbergasted. "Annie... Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Because it was best that you didn't know," Annie spat. "You guys are my friends, but you would never believe me if I told you that I can see the future..."

Zana groaned, rolling her eyes. "This is so fucked up... So, so, sooooo fucked up. I really hope that this is just some terrible dream."

"Leader-Sama, how can we trust or even believe these idiots?" Kisame asked, narrowing his eyes at Annie. "As far as we know, what Annie is saying could be bullshit. The girl seems desperate to live, maybe this is her way of trying to get us to spare her life. We should get more answers from them and then kill them." Then he smiled, a sick and twisted smile. "Perhaps I'll give them the mercy of a quick death. A girl like you doesn't look strong enough to endure torture."

"Though you seem to be itching to kill me... Bruce, I personally think killing me would be a bad choice, considering I might have some important things for you to know." Annie exclaimed, sneering. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm telling you the truth? Also, can you untie me, this is uncomfortable. Don't threaten me with death, there are much worse things than death."

Itachi looked at her curiously, but as he looked at Kisame, his eyes narrowed. "Kisame, I think she is telling us the truth."

"We'll see... If she's lying then we will kill all four of them," Pain said blankly. "But first untie them, Kisame."

Kisame growled, standing behind Annie with a kunai knife. Swiftly, he cut the rope around her wrists and then around her ankles, her wrists stinging from the rough rope. Without saying anything, she stood up and walked across the room, muttering a silent 'excuse me' to Kakuzu... Running her hands over the books on the shelf, she slipped the Atlas out from it, walking back over to the coffee table and slamming it down.

"This..." She explained loudly, so all of them could hear her. "Is an Atlas, a book of the world map and all the different continents and countries. I know you'll probably not believe me yet, but take a look and you'll see for yourself. Maybe once you see physical evidence, then you'll believe me... Considering you're all too stubborn to believe what a 17 year old girl says."

Wordlessly, Pain sat down on the couch in front of the coffee table, observing the book. The rest of the Akatsuki gathered around, talking quietly among themselves. He flipped open the book, skimming the pages he opened it to the world map. Everyone was silent, a few of the Akatsuki members looked at Annie, Sam, Zana and Tara. Some of them looked at them with a curious expressions while the rest of them looked ready to tear the girls apart. Kisame and Hidan did not seem to hide the hostility they felt towards Annie, both of them shot her a deadly glare. It was probably best to ignore them, but Annie made an obscene gesture with her hand towards them in return.

"I... Assume that you've never seen this map before?" Sam asked nervously.

Konan shook her head. "We've never seen anything like this, this map... This house and what we saw outside. From all this, you might be right about us being in a different world."

"Are you fucking serious about this?" Hidan groaned. "How is that even possible?"

"We don't know either! Before this shit happened, there was no such thing as 'alternate universe' or 'different worlds' or whatever bullshit we're dealing with here," Zana snapped. "Are all of you still not convinced?"

"No... It's just that... We're rather confused," A red headed man with brown eyes spoke. He stood close to Annie, who wanted to laugh at how short he was. He was almost tiny compared to a beast like Kisame. "Like we said before, we were dead. And now we are in a different world, how do you explain that?"

"Maybe, this is really the afterlife!" A man chirped, for some odd reason, he wore an orange swirly mask. At what he said, everyone seemed to roll their eyes or groan. Annie couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, there was something strange about him, but she couldn't figure out what it was. That man... He was Tobi, Annie quickly looked away from him, feeling strangely uncomfortable.

"Well, I know for a fact that I'm alive," Annie spoke softly, shaking her head. "Can I see a map of your world? I mean, if you have any..."

They stared at her silently, Itachi pulled out a scroll and handed it to her. Annie opened the scroll, laying it on the coffee table, Zana and Sam sat on either side of her observing it. Tara seemed uninterested or afraid to even go near the strangers, so she just sat on the couch.

"Fire country... Konoha... Wind country... Sunagakure..." Sam muttered. "So each country I guess has capital, like, a main village?"

"Yes," Pain said. "Konohagakure is the Hidden Village of the Fire Country and Sunagakure is the hidden village of the Wind country."

Annie traced a finger over the map, the weird symbols and names seemed to be somewhat familiar to her. Her finger idly traced a circle around where Konohagakure was written. For some reason, she was drawn to that place, then her finger slid down to a place called Uzushiogakure... A strange feeling passed over her as she looked at the place on the map, her mind whirring with so many thoughts. "You guys said that you are Shinobi... What does that mean?"

"You don't know what a shinobi is?" Kisame snorted. "Oh right... I guess there's no Shinobi in this world."

"Yes, they are no Shinobi's in this world because I haven't met a single person who claims to be one. I also haven't met anyone else who is an emotionally deficient, rude asshole who looks like a Shark." Annie snapped, earning another hostile look from Kisame.

"Shinobis are ninjas," Pain explained. "We have the ability to manipulate chakra to create different techniques."

The four girls were silent, looking at each other before Annie spoke. "Well... That's interesting... Can you show us? I mean, only if you want to... I guess."

"You want us to prove it to you?" Kisame growled, looking at her as if she was stupid. "This isn't some kind of magic show you know."

Annie snorted. "That's too bad, I thought you guys were the Circus... I was look forward to some great Circus acts!"

This time, all of the Akatsuki narrowed their eyes at Annie, she rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath and Zana, Sam and Tara just groaned. This was supposed to be their summer vacation, not a time to babysit some strange ninjas from a completely different world. Annie almost laughed at the thought, she couldn't imagine what it would be like for them to try to fit into a completely different society.

"How about I show you my art, un?" Deidara suggested, his lips curling into a mischievous smile.

The red headed man, Sasori, looked irritated at the idea. "It isn't even art."

"Yes it is, hm!"

"Can you two shut up please?" Annie begged. "And you... Deidara... I mean, Blond guy... Dude who looks like a lady... Whoever the hell you are... You can show us your art, but outside."

"I don't look like a girl, un!" He snapped, but was only shoved towards the sliding door by the red headed man.

Outside, the night sky was sprinkled with stars, the full moon casting an eerie glow on the earth below. Annie, Zana, Sam and Tara walked awkwardly among the Akatsuki as they headed past her empty pool towards the large area of grass behind it.

"Well I'm ready for the magic show to begin," Zana said sarcastically. "I wonder if he's going to pull a bunny out of a hat..."

"Or maybe he'll make a huge fire, walk into and emerge out of it unburnt with three dragons like Daenerys Targaryen," Tara suggested.

"Even I have to admit... That would be cool," Annie giggled, she noticed that Akatsuki were giving them strange looks. "Or if he turned into a Mockingjay like Katniss did in Catching Fire."

"Can we please stop with the Game of Thrones and Hunger Games references?" Zana yelled. "We have a pretty serious situation here and you guys are trying to make a joke of it!"

"You were the one who said 'I'm ready for the magic show to begin'!" Annie exclaimed. "And my sarcasm is my best weapon, I mean look, we're still alive!"

Sam shushed them. "I think we should be quiet now..."

"Deidara," The red headed man warned. "Don't do anything stupid."

Deidara only smirked. "Don't worry, I'm not going blow anything up Sasori-sama."

Annie snickered. "What he doesn't call him 'Senpai'?"

"Don't set bombs over the whole city." Pain said.

"Uh... That was sarcastic, right?" Zana asked, looking at Pain oddly.

"No, it wasn't."

Deidara reached into his cloak, pulling out what looked to be a ball of clay. When he opened his right hand, a mouth opened, sticking it's tongue out as if licking it's lips. Annie gasped at the sight, and Zana and Sam shrieked, Tara only stood still frozen in shock. This had almost provided Annie enough proof that these people really were who they said they were. Not just ninjas though, they were freaks. She had thought that Kisame and other Black and white man were freaks, but clearly she didn't know them well enough yet.

He only smirked, throwing the small ball of clay into the mouth of his right hand. The mouth chewed it for a few seconds and then spat it out, what was once a lump of clay was now a small bird. Deidara raised his index and middle finger of his right hand and yelled. "Katsu!"

They had no moment to ask what he was doing before there was an explosion, the small bird had exploded, Zana, Tara and Sam jumped back yelling. But Annie stood there, staring in curiosity. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Annie froze, staring at the sight before her.

The small bird had now transformed into an even bigger one, big enough to climb onto. It's wings were tucked in and it's head lowered, Annie walked towards it, admiring the smooth white clay of the figurine. Suddenly, it flapped it's wings and Annie yelped, jumping back as the thing she thought was just a clay figurine moved.

"How the hell can it move?!" Zana gawked. "This is impressive..."

"It's ninjutsu," Pain explained."All Ninjutsu techniques are unique, and we each have our own depending on our nature release."

"Pretty cool, un?" Deidara grinned, stroking the bird's wing.

"Deidara, go scan the city from above, see if you find anything of interest," Pain ordered.

"And don't get hit by an airplane," Annie yelled at him. "Infact, don't let any other planes see you! No one would react well to a guy flying around on a big bird."

Hidan looked at Annie strangely. "What the fuck is an airplane?"

"It's..." Annie sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. "I'll tell you later. It's a mode of transportation."

Deidara jumped onto the back of the bird, with a cool gust of wind it took off from the ground. Annie stared in awe as he rose higher up to the stars and flew away, wondering where he would go. She remembered when she was little watching Aladdin, dreaming that she would be able fly like the characters did on the magic carpet. Annie had always day dreamed of these things, of being a mermaid or being one of the strong heroines from the popular young adult novels, but she never thought something like that could be real.

Until now, these were not the things she had day dreamed about. They were beyond that, beyond anything she could have imagined. Yet, there was more to learn, but she had already felt that her whole world had flipped upside down in a matter of seconds.

"You have never seen this before?"

It took a moment to realize that Pain was speaking to her, shaking her head, she snapped out of her daze. "None of us have... Stuff like this... It only exists in movies, in fantasy novels. People like me... Well, we're considered to be... Normal human beings."

"Tch, you haven't seen anything yet," Kisame said. "That was just a little tiny bit of what we can do."

Annie came to the realization that if these people went out in the city, that they would not only scare the hell out of people, but would cause some serious damage as well. She wasn't aware of what exactly what these people could do, but from the looks of it, they were a force to no be reckoned with. They were the most powerful people in the world and if anyone else found out about them...

"You can't go out in the city," Annie blurted out. "If... People see you, and what you can do then they will freak out... If you kill too many people or do something crazy, they will send the military after you."

"... And if you tell them that you're from a different world, they will try to put you into a mental institute," Sam added.

"So what do you suggest we do then?" Kakuzu asked, in what seemed to be in a mocking tone. "Stay in hiding?"

"Yes that is what I'm suggesting. Because you're 'S-class criminals' so I assume that's a very dangerous ranking..." Annie yelled, she ran her hands through her hair, then started pacing around. She was anxious, she never paced around unless she was anxious. "No one will believe that there's another world out there, that you come from that world... Unless we have proof. Which we don't... I've been having these dreams and they turn out to be visions of the future... If I told my doctor that, he would probably send me to a mental hospital Besides since you're criminals, there must be other Shinobi who want you dead, what if they find out about this world... Somehow get here and discover that you're here?"

They all stared at her now, and Annie couldn't help but be angry, upset, and most of all confused. "This isn't your world anymore guys! You live in a world where people believe that a God created the earth within seven days, and others believe that we human beings evolved from apes. And people idolize Kim Kardashian and-"

"Annie," Zana said. "I think you need to calm down..."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? How am I supposed to be calm right now, I have no idea why the hell this is happening... My therapist couldn't figure out what was going on with me... Fuck, she was probably going to send me to a mental institute... But here's the answer to my problems, I can see the future. That's just... Great!"

Sam turned to the Akatsuki, looking at Pain. "I'm sorry, but she's having a moment, she has bad temper... And we're all a little stressed right now. It's supposed to be Summer vacation for us and this is a little overwhelming. Could... You go inside and let us speak in private, like for a few minutes?"

"Meet us back inside when you're done." Pain said flatly, him and the rest of the Akatsuki went back inside the house, of course giving Sam, Annie, Zana and Tara weird looks as well.

"Annie!" Sam took Annie's hand, attempting to reassure her. "Calm down, okay? Just breathe... Nice deep breathes... Think straight."

Annie stopped pacing back and forth, she closed her eyes and breathed, taking in the warm summer air. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out..."

"That's okay, we're all a little freaked out right now." Zana explained. "But at least we get some time to think things through..."

"Tch, yeah at least..." Tara muttered. She was strangely quiet and Annie suspected that might be because she was afraid. But when she looked at her, it wasn't fear that was in her expression, rather one of annoyance or confusion.

"Well..." Sam said quietly. "Don't worry too much about it Annie, do whatever feels right..."

"Just... Promise me whatever happens tonight or in the future, no matter what happens... You'll always have my back." Annie spoke softly. "Just promise me that."

"Of course, dude," Zana laughed, nudging Sam. "Why wouldn't we?"

Tara only nodded, seeming to have no interest in their conversation. Annie decided not to question her and made her way back into the house instead. The were in the living room, some of them sitting on the couches, Annie took a seat, Zana and Sam sitting on either side of her.

"You said that we should stay in hiding..." Pain explained, looking at Annie. "But where would we stay?"

_'Here... In my house...' _Annie knew that would be the answer but refused to accept that it would be the solution this situation. "I... Am not sure."

"Why not here?" The blue haired woman ask, her eyes narrowed slightly. "You already know about who we are... It would make more sense for us to stay here."

"I agree, Konan," Kisame said, his gaze on Annie now. "Besides, don't you think she will benefit our organization? She has visions of the future after all. She could be of use to us."

"That is true," Pain said. "We'll stay here then."

_'Dad's not going to like this. He's not going to like this at all.' _Annie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, what would she tell her dad the next time she talked to him. _'Oh by the way Dad... A group of ninjas called the 'Akatsuki' somehow appeared in the world and now they're staying at our house. You see, I had no choice but to let them stay, because they probably would have killed me if I hadn't let them...'_

Annie was silent for a moment. No, she couldn't refuse the Akatsuki, there was no other way out of this, it seemed. "But.. Oh... Um... Alright then... But I have some conditions or rules if you're going to stay in my house."

"Care to explain them?" Sasori asked.

"Well the first one... Do not use your weapons inside the house." She spoke, eyeing Hidan's scythe which was now leaning against the wall. "2. do not go into my room 3. do not use ANY ninjutsu inside or outside the house 4. Do not go into the alcohol cabinet 5. Do not go into my parent's room... 6. No snooping around the house, like, don't try to get on my laptop or look through my personal stuff. I think that's all for now, also, please don't kill my dog, Otis."

Pain nodded. "Then... It's settled, I suppose, for now."

To her surprise, they all nodded in understanding though Hidan did roll his eyes. It was late, about 12:23 AM now and Annie decided that she was too exhausted to stay up and deal with Shinobi criminals, who she just learned all the names of. There were 5 guest bedrooms, each having two beds. Annie appointed them to the rooms, leaving them to argue over who would stay in what room. One of them would have to stay in one of the rooms in the guest house that was in the backyard and if there really was a need for it, there was also the RV that one or two of them could sleep in.

It was 1:00 AM when Annie went into her room and closed the door, sighing with exhaustion. Zana, Sam and Tara were too tired or overwhelmed to speak so they all changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed. Sam and Annie slept in her king sized bed, while Zana and Tara slept on mattresses on the floor.

All of them fell fast asleep, except for Annie who lied awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. All her plans for a fun summer had gone down the drain, the hope summer break would be relaxing and fun was replaced with a feeling of fear and dread.

_'What the hell have I gotten myself into...'_


	4. The Akatsuki

Chapter 3: The Akatsuki

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

Annie groaned as the alarm on her phone seemed to blare through the room, rolling over, she opened her eyes. The morning sun cast rays into her bedroom, filling the room with a comforting glow and warmth that reminded her of the summers she spent at the family cabin in Tofino. She rubbed her eyes, then realizing that she forgot to take off her makeup the night before.

On the floor, Zana growled, pulling her blanket over her head. "Turn the fucking alarm off!"

With a groan, Annie reached over and turned the alarm off. There was no reason for her to wake up early that morning, she simply forgot to turn off her alarms from the previous day. Rolling back on her side, she pulled the blankets back over her and tried to go back to sleep. What happened last night? She tried to remember, but she was too exhausted to even think about the night before.

It was only a few minutes later, when the door to her bedroom door slammed open. Loud Footsteps echoed through the room, whoever it was made their way into her room, stopping near her bed.

"Leader-Sama says to come downstairs, now." The voice sounded familiar, then the memories from last night came back and Annie cursed inwardly. Hesitantly she opened her eyes, staring up at Kisame who just stood there.

"Tell 'Leader-Sama' that I want to sleep," She snapped, throwing the covers over her head and closing her eyes.

Kisame grunted, probably rolling his eyes. He threw the blankets back, Sam, who slept beside her yelped at the sudden movement. He bent down, grabbing Annie by her waist and pulling her out of the bed. "No exceptions."

"Hey, what the hell?!" Annie shrieked as Kisame simply threw her onto his shoulder as if she was a sack of potatoes. "I can walk by myself you know!"

"What the fuck are you doing Bruce?!" Zana snapped, now standing on top of the mattress with her hands on her hips, along with Tara who still looked half asleep "It's 7:00 AM in the morning!"

"Yes, and it's time for you to get your asses out of bed and come downstairs," Kisame explained, listening to Annie's complaints, he put her back on the ground. She hastily but her hair up in a messy bun, smoothing out her pajamas from Forever 21 which said "Nobody understands me like coffee does" on the shirt, the PJ shorts were printed with mugs of coffee.

"Right now? Can't we at least get changed?" Sam asked.

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Why does it matter? You can get changed later."

Annoyed at Kisame, Annie snatched her phone and stomped past him out of the room. She walked downstairs as slow as she could, a nice hot cup of coffee on her mind. When she walked in the dining room she stopped. All the Akatsuki minus Kisame sat around the table, as she walked into the room, they all turned their gazes to her.

"Um… Hi… Good morning," She grumbled, fumbling with the hem of her pajama shirt, suddenly feeling shy. "Thanks for the wake up call by the way, I was hoping to sleep in. I only got to sleep in on weekends before, I would like to get more beauty sleep now that school is out for the summer."

"There are more important matters to discuss than sleep," Pain said cooly, Annie couldn't help but notice how emotionless he seemed to be. The expression he wore was like a blank canvas, hard to read. She wondered if he did this only around the Akatsuki, or if he just refused to express his emotions in general. _'I guess most bad guys do that, pretend not to express emotion because it makes them look 'cooler''_ She rolled her eyes at the thought.

Annie shook her head, trying not think too much of what these criminals were like. It was not as if they would become the best of friends, especially with Hidan or Kisame. "Well… These important matters can be discussed in a bit. I'm going to get coffee, and don't even try to stop me from doing that. I get really grumpy without my coffee."

It took a few minutes for the coffee to brew, the comforting smell of it seemed to fill the room. _'As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?' _It was one of Annie's favorite quotes from _City Of Bones_, the first book in _The Mortal Instruments Series. _While the coffee brewed, she ate some cereal while sitting at the island and checked her phone. Nothing of interest had seemed to happen in the internet world, only a few _Facebook_ notifications, some emails, and some new _Youtube_ videos from people she was subscribed to. Out of all of these, she preferred _Tumblr, _she scrolled through it, reblogging a few interesting posts.

The door to the kitchen opened and slammed closed, Annie didn't bother to see who it was, it was probably Zana or Tara coming to get coffee as well. She froze though, as Itachi walked in, filling his glass with water at the kitchen counter. He didn't seem to see her or just acted like she wasn't there, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and ridiculous in her pajamas.

"… _I'd like to know how you know my name." _ The words echoed so loudly through her mind that Annie suddenly had a hard time concentrating on one thing. She glanced at Itachi, who now leaned against the kitchen counter, drinking his water. She realized that he was staring at her and Annie tried to look away.

There was an awkward silence as Itachi still stood there and Annie tried to distract herself by looking through her phone but It slipped out of her hand and dropped on the floor.

"Shit," Annie muttered, she was just about to grab it but Itachi bent down and grabbed it off the floor, he handed it to her, their eyes making contact for a moment.

"Thank you…" She said quietly and he still stood there, looking at her.

"What is your natural hair colour?" He asked, Annie frowned. Out of all the questions he could ask, he asked that one? And was it that obvious that she died her hair? People had told her that they her natural hair colour was brown, but maybe the colour was starting to fade.

"It's red." Annie said, she didn't know whether she felt completely uncomfortable or tense when he stood close to her. For some reason, when she stared at him her heart started beating and she wanted to mentally slap herself for acting so awkward around him.

He blinked, turning away. "I see…"

She walked back into the dining room, carrying her big red 'Keep calm and carry on' mug with steaming hot coffee in it. Zana went into the kitchen to get coffee as Annie sat down beside Sam at the dining room table, Itachi was sitting across from her and she tried to avoid his eye contact. But no matter how much she avoided it, she could feel him stare at her from time to time. Maybe it was just her imagination though, maybe he wasn't actually staring at her.

"What are those things that are on the road, they have lights and make weird honking noises, un," Deidara asked, he was explaining what he had saw last night in the city. Annie only registered a bit of his story, not really interested in what he had to say. Clearly, the Akatsuki had no clue about what cars were... She couldn't imagine trying to explain other technology to them.

"They're called cars," Sam explained. "And there's different types of cars, there are vans, sports cars, trucks, and Jeeps."

"Okay… And what is that she has in her hand?" Tobi asked pointing at Annie.

"That's a cup of coffee," Tara said, rolling her eyes.

"He means the other thing she has in her hand, dumbass," Hidan said, looking at her as if she was stupid.

Annie sighed in exasperation. "It's a cellphone, it's what we use to communicate, so we can call people on it or text them… Texting means that we send messages but through our phones."

"So you don't need to use a bird to send a message, you just do it with that?" Konan asked. "That's rather… Interesting."

"I guess our world is more advanced in technology than yours," Annie spoke. "Anyways, I don't think I was woken up early to talk about cars and cell phones. And while I'd love to educate you about the Kardashians and airplanes, I'm assuming that's not why I am here... Right now... Way too early in the morning for my liking, may I add."

"We haven't completely settled things yet," Pain explained, looking at Annie in what seemed to be suspicion. "There are things I'd like to discuss, the first thing being how we got here in your world… Do you have any idea of how we got here?"

Annie frowned, biting her lip "Look, I have no clue how you got here. My visions are sometimes… Not clear? I don't know, I don't think I can really control them. There was this weird storm last night… The clouds like cleared up in the middle of the sky like some kind of circle, and then this huge, bright flash of lightning. We came out to the forest to see what it was, but then we found Itachi lying unconscious on the ground… My vision though… I do remember seeing something on the ground, it was like these strange symbols, like Japanese writing or something…"

"If that was there, that means it could be fuinjutsu," Itachi said, none of the girls had any idea what he was talking about. "But fuinjutsu is a sealing techinique… So maybe it's a different kind of jutsu."

"A jutsu that lets you travel to a different dimension?" Kisame asked. "That's something probably only the sage of the six paths could do. I have never heard of anyone being able to perform a jutsu that powerful."

"… And I did not understand a single thing they said there," Tara grumbled, to no one in particular.

"My main point is, we need to find a way back to our world," Said Pain. "With your power Annie, you could help us."

Annie froze, setting her coffee mug down on the table "What makes you think that I will help you?"

"Do you value your life?" He asked sharply

"Yes, I do," Annie snapped "I would just like to live my normal, basic, Teenage girl life... This is not my idea of a fun adventure. We just met like a few hours ago and we're already discussing plans like this? I don't even trust you."

"In all honesty, I don't trust you either."

She shook her head "Then why the hell do you want me to help you if you don't trust me?"

"We're not saying that you'll help us right away," Konan interjected "It could take us awhile to figure out how to get back to our world, in the mean time you would have to help us figure out a way to get back. If you did not choose to help us... Well, we could find a way on our own. If you did choose to help us, we protect you and make sure that any other Shinobi will not get information from you."

"Won't you kill me because I would know who you are and what you do," Annie explained. "So why not kill me after I helped you get back to your world? I wouldn't be of any use after I helped you, there's nothing that special about me…"

"A power like yours, we have never seen before…" Pain explained. "Something that is unique, not even Shinobi possess a power like yours. Do you know how many people would want you if they knew you had this power?"

'_Many people…' _Annie thought. _'I could be a weapon for war, somebody's tool for destruction…' _Growing up, Annie never wanted to be the girl who stood by and let the men fight the battles. Even her father had taught her how to fight and how to hunt, she thought that she would always fight her own battles, but this was a different kind of battle. One of the last things she wanted to be was a damsel in distress, but being someone's tool sounded worse.

"There are many people who would use you as a tool. Eventually, others would find out about you and they would try to use you as well. There are people who would use you as a tool for destruction, to start wars, to interrogate other Shinobis, many other things. While in this world, your ability may be seen as a curse, it would be seen as a highly valued weapon in ours."

"Isn't that what you want me to do for you? To be your tool?"

"No, because our goal is different, we want to control the world" Pain explained slowly.

Annie had almost forgotten that he mentioned that the night before, but she must have forgotten that he said it. Why would Pain, or just a group of criminals in general, want to control the world? Was it for world peace? These people were a group of powerful and dangerous Shinobi, if they wanted world peace, they must have had a pretty twisted idea of achieving it.

"So you want me to help you with that?" Annie said softly, sipping her coffee. "To control the world?"

He nodded, as well as Konan. Annie thought about all the strange dreams she was having up until now, but none of them determined whether or not if she agreed to help the Akatsuki. Just yesterday, she was a normal high school girl, the outcast at school, but today she was a girl with visions of the future, a girl who could possibly change the world. It was like her life was suddenly turning into a Fantasy novel and soon enough, her world would change...

"If I agree to help you," Annie said. "You must not kill or harm my friends... Especially my family as well."

"No harm will come to them," Said Pain, the tone of his voice neutral, as it always seemed to be.

Annie looked at Zana and Sam who seemed to agree, but Tara looked unsure. "Can we have some time to talk about this?"

"Yes." Pain simply said.

"Let's go outside," Annie whispered to Sam, she stood up heading out of the kitchen to the living room, coffee in hand. Zana, Sam, and Tara followed her as she opened the sliding door and walked outside, Otis, who was sleeping in his bed in the living room, walked outside with them. For a moment she stood there, basking in the cool morning summer air.

"Annie… What are we going to do?" Zana blurted out as soon as the door closed. "We can't trust these guys, they're dangerous people. Pain could be lying about all of this!"

"I know," Annie said softly. "Yet at the same time, I'm so unsure… I feel like he is telling the truth, yet he is hiding something. I just… Don't know what to do…"

Sam bit her lip, running a hand through her dark hair."I think we need time to make a decision… Do you think they will at least allow us that?"

"I'm not so sure," Zana said. "They might not… They seem to be very keen on getting back to their world. In this case, they might not allow us the time to make the decision."

"I agree," Annie nodded. "They might not."

After being quiet for awhile, Tara finally spoke. "Well in this case… I don't want any part of it, so you can count me out."

"What?! Are you serious? So you're just going to leave? They might kill you if you do that!" Zana snapped.

"I don't care what they do!" Tara hissed. "You guys almost act like it's a good thing. It's not, it's fucking insane. I don't want any part of this bullshit, you can have the time of your lives with them if you want, but I'm leaving."

"Tara, we're trying to compromise here," Annie explained. "At least listen to what I have to say…"

"-Oh about how you're so special with your future visions and all that crap? Forget it Annie, I'm leaving."

Annie clenched her jaw "Fine." She spat. "But don't come running to me if you get your ass in trouble Tara."

Tara did not respond, only turned around and walked back inside the house. The three girls were silent for a moment, confused about what happened.

"She seemed pretty pissed off at you, Annie," Sam pointed out. "Has something been going on?"

"We haven't been getting along a lot recently," Annie confessed. It was true, her and Tara weren't always on the best of terms lately. Mostly over Tara's boyfriend Billy and many other things. Tara and Annie were both different people with different beliefs and views on life, which meant that they didn't agree about everything. While they had moments like yesterday, where they could put their indifferences aside, Tara was always too hot tempered and seemed to be somewhat jealous of Annie. She never understood why. "Whatever, it's her choice to leave…"

"She uh... We ask Pain if we can have more time to make a final decision?" Zana asked. "Also, I want more coffee, so uh… If we reach a final decision on this soon, that would be great."

"I personally think we need more time to decide," Sam agreed "I'm not sure whether we can agree to help them right now. We've known these guys for like, less than 24 hours."

Annie rubbed her eyes, her head starting to pound. "I guess it's decided then… Maybe we should ask."

All agreeing, they went back inside. As soon as she sat down at the table, she chugged the rest of her now cold Coffee. Everyone was silent before Pain spoke.

"Have you all made a decision?" He asked.

"You'll have to give us more time to decide," Said Annie. "It's too soon for us to come to a final decision, we need more time. I mean even after what happened last night, we're still all in a bit of shock."

"Okay." Pain said, even though Annie thought she saw a somewhat disapproving look on his face.

"Look, we barely know you guys, maybe once we know you a bit better, we can then make a final decision," Sam suggested.

Hidan snorted. "Oh so we need time to bond and become friends, like one big happy fucking family."

"Yes, and then we can have movie nights together and have family dinners together," Zana said sarcastically. "Sounds fantastic!"

Pain ignored Zana and Hidan's sarcastic jokes. "Where did Tara go?"

"She didn't want anything to do with you guys," Annie explained, wondering if Tara would text her later or at least message her on _Facebook_. "She left, I don't think she's coming back."

Pain simply nodded, leaning his elbows on and folding his hands. There was an odd silence throughout the room, only a few of the Akatsuki talked amongst themselves quietly, taking no more interest in Annie, Zana and Sam. She wanted more coffee and her stomach growled with hunger as well, apparently the cereal she had eaten had not been filling.

"Uh… Do you guys want breakfast?" Annie asked, even though the Akatsuki were a group of criminals, she thought that she might as well treat them like guests. Many of them either nodded or said yes to her question.

"Alright, Sam and Zana, come and help me make breakfast."

* * *

"There you are, I've been looking for you,"

Annie closed her book, marking the page first where she had left off. Sighing, she sat up straight, sipping her iced coffee. "Something wrong, Sam?"

"Nah, I just wanted to see how you're doing," She said, sitting on the lawn chair beside her. Otis layed down in the grass beside her, she leaned over and scratched his ear. It had been a few hours since that morning's 'meeting' and Annie decided she wanted to go outside by herself for a bit. While the Akatsuki did continue to ignore her or pay not much interest to her, they did seem quite happy about being made breakfast, especially bacon. Bacon and Coffee, two of the best solutions to the biggest problems, apparently.

"Umm… Well despite the whole this whole 'stuff'… You know, being able to see the future and all that… Besides that, I guess everything is okay."

"So this means that you don't have that disease or whatever it was?"

"Frontotemporal Dementia… Also known as FTD," The phrase that had often been told to Annie of recent, gave her chills.

Sam almost hesitated to speak after she said it, but tried to speak more gently. "What are you going to tell your dad, Annie? I think he'll be happy that you're okay."

"I'm not sure…"

It had only been a few months ago that Annie seemed to be living in a world of what she thought was chaotic hell. Most weeks she would have to go to a therapist, and then to go see a doctor to get MRI scans. The memories seemed to be distant at first, but when she started thinking about them again, they seemed fresh…

_For months it had happened, for years at least. She was having strange visions, strange dreams that did not make senses to her. A red moon with a strange pattern on that looked like an eye, a white haired man who had strange red marks on his face and wore blue armour. But there was always the one man who would call out to her, the man with the long black hair and strange red eyes. _

"_Annie?" He would call her name, but she did not answer, she did not know his name._

_She laid on ice, the cold seeping in to her bones and making her shiver. "What do you want from me?"_

"_What's going to happen?"_

"_Everything is going to change."_

_She had woken up gasping for air as if she had almost drowned. For many years, the visions or dreams came and went, but when she got older, they came more often, more strange and mysterious. It would have been easier to hide these things from people, but the visions got so bad that she had to tell someone._

_After that dream, she had told her Mom and Dad everything. They listened to her but she could tell from the looks on their faces that something was wrong. No teenage girls should have dreams like these or strange visions at random times of the day and no matter what, she couldn't stop them. She remembered sitting on the couch, while her Mom called a therapist, her dad sat on the couch beside her, not looking at her. Maybe he couldn't look at her, maybe they were ashamed or scared of what she was._

_From that moment one, she had started going to therapy. Her therapist, Dr. Fukui was nice, though Annie had strange suspicions about her. Her therapy sessions had started with her telling Dr. Fukui about the visions and dreams and how they had started to come more often. One day after therapy, she asked for Annie's parents to come into her office to talk._

"_Mr. and Mrs. Harker, have you ever heard of the disease called 'Frontotemporal dementia'?" Dr. Fukui had asked, looking at her notes and then at Annie._

"_Of course I have," Annie's mother, Marianne said. "I'm a doctor, and I did have a patient with this disease."_

"_I see," Dr. Fukui said quietly. "Annie here has been showing some symptons of FTD, judging from what she has been telling me in our sessions."_

_Annie's mother had frozen at that moment, she glanced at her and then at Dr. Fukui, her face pale. "But how can we be so sure?"_

"_I'm not. What I suggest though is that you take Annie to a doctor to get an MRI, to see whether her brain is showing cell degeneration. That is what I suggest you do, but other than that, what Annie has told me, I have never heard of happening in other people."_

_After that, they had left and drove home in silence. Annie sat in the back of the truck, while her Dad drove in silence, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Her Mother was trying to hold back her tears, but the pain of what Annie was going through was too much to bear. So she cried and Annie couldn't say anything, her Father held her hand as they drove home and all Annie could do was stare out the window of the truck, pretending that everything would be okay._

_It was the same the next week, but this time, she sat in the passenger seat as her Dad drove to the hospital in Campbell River. He wouldn't talk to her for some reason, he looked angry and Annie couldn't understand why at first. Maybe he was mad at God, if there was one, or the universe it's self for letting this happen to his daughter, his one and only child. Annie didn't know how she felt herself, her emotions were a mix of confusion, anger and sadness._

_The MRI was the worst, Annie had to lie absolutely still. It felt like an eternity, having to lie inside that machine while they took scans of your brain, to whether it was okay or not. For the first time, she had questioned if she was really okay, and not for the first time, she knew she wasn't okay._

_It had turned out that her brain had showed no signs of cell degeneration, which meant that she was okay, physically. Yet the news had not seemed to change her dad's mood, who had looked worn out and pensive. So they made their way back home, the car silent again as they drove past the beach._

_She had not felt good, and was just able to hold back her tears. "Dad, can we stop for a minute? I just need some fresh air."_

"_Are you feeling okay?" He asked._

"_Y-yeah I'm fine, I just need to step outside for a bit," She tried to hide her face so he wouldn't see that she was upset, his eyes which were on her had turned back to the road as he turned into the parking lot. As soon as he cut the engine she got out of the truck, walking towards the beach._

_Annie was walking so quickly, that she had stumbled in the sand and fell. She didn't bother to get back up, only sat there in the sand and sobbed._

_There were so many thoughts in her head and one came to her the most clearly; 'Freak'. She was a freak, she was so sure that she was, no one could understand what was wrong with her, so that's what she most likely was; a freak. This thing... This disease that she had, was ruining her, destroying her life. She wished, more than anything that they would go away._

"_Sweet heart?" Her Father called out to her. "Are you alright?"_

'_No I'm not, I'm not alright,' she thought, trying to hold back her sobs. But her Dad sat by her, putting his arms around her._

"_Shh…" He hushed, stroking her hair. "It's going to be fine Annie."_

"_You really think that?" Annie whispered. "Dad, I'm a freak, all those bullies' back in school, what they said about me is true… I'm weird, I'm messed up."_

_He frowned. "Don't you dare say that. They don't know you…"_

"_Aren't you ashamed of me though?" She wailed. "You and Mom don't talk to me about this! You don't tell me how you feel, but I have to hear her cry and I don't know why."_

"_Why would we be ashamed? Annie, we're worried for you, the thought of losing you has scared us to death, losing you, our daughter... Our only child. Could you imagine how we feel?" He shook his head, looking out towards the ocean. "You know why I'm scared? Because I love you, I love you so much, and losing someone you love, especially a child is a parent's worst nightmare. I can't let anything happen to you, you know what?"_

"_Dad…" Through the tears, Annie smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, I just never understood… But now I think I know."_

_He looked at her, brushing her hair back from her face. "When you're a parent, you'll understand."_

"_Me, a parent? I don't know about that Dad, and who would want to marry me?"_

"_You really don't know do you?" He laughed, but then frowned. "Princess, you really are too hard on yourself sometimes you know that?"_

_Annie sighed. "Yeah, I know and I try not to be…"_

"_The reason those people at school bully you…" He explained. "Is because they're jealous… You are very beautiful Annie, you might not know that but they know and so do I. I've seen the way boys look at you, like you're not something of this earth. I don't know how you aren't able to notice this but I see it every time. And those girls, like Savannah, are jealous because you have something they don't."_

"_And what's that?" Annie asked._

"_Well there are many things," He explained smiling. "You're beautiful, smart, compassionate and caring. You've never held back on speaking your mind. Yes, that's gotten you in quite a bit of trouble before, but that is not an ability that most people have. And you, my daughter are determined and stubborn, more stubborn than me. But you know what the most beautiful thing about you is?"_

_She didn't realize that she was crying again, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "What?"_

"_You're a fighter, you are brave. You have been through so much crap, but you've just pushed through it, you've never backed down from anyone who would try to hurt you. You're beautiful both inside and out and I'm not saying this just because I'm your father, but because it's true. I want you to remember this from now and accept that you're different but amazing, because I sure as hell think you are."_

"_Jeez, Dad," Annie sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "You sure know how to make me feel better."_

"_That's one of my many duties as a father." He smiled, kissing her on the forehead._

'_Brave, beautiful, determined…' _Annie thought, how was she all those things? She believed she wasn't anything extroadinary, until now anyways.

"I think he's going to freak out when he comes home, my dad, I mean," Annie said, the thought of her Dad's reaction making her stomach flip. Robert Harker was a cautionary man, and sometimes, paranoid Annie believed. He had made it his job to make sure that Annie was safe at all times and would always stay out of trouble. He was over protective, Annie had told him that all the time but he always denied it.

Sam laughed nervously. "He's not just going to freak out, he's going to rage... Like really, rage."

Annie's phone started ringing she looked at the screen, frowning. How ironic, just when she was thinking about her boring therapy sessions, her therapist called. "It's Dr. Fukui calling, my therapist."

"Oh," Sam muttered, she went silent, as if expect Annie to answer her phone.

"Hello?" Annie said, starting to feel nervous.

"Hello Ms. Harker, how are you doing?" Dr. Fukui had a distinct accent and always called Annie by 'Ms. Harker' as if she was a mature adult. She liked it because it was like she was not treating her like she was a stuck up teenager, which a lot of adults seemed to treat her as.

"Um… I'm doing good, how about you?"

"I am fine," She said. "How has your Summer been, have any exciting plans?"

She talked to her as if she was friend, not just her therapist. That's another thing Annie liked about her. "Me and my dad plan to go to Tofino sometime near the end of July. Other than that, no other big plans."

"Ah, that sounds lovely. Say hi to him the next time you talk to him. Anyway, I was calling to check up on you. I wanted to know how you… Are feeling and if you need to, you can come in again for another session."

Annie took a deep breath, she had not thoroughly enjoyed the therapy sessions, they did little to help her. All these years, she was seeing visions of the future yet she didn't know that she was. Maybe because her and the rest of the world were taught that no such thing was possible, no one had such powers. Now she knew the answer, now she would never have to go back to therapy.

"Yes, I am feeling fine." She said cheerfully.

"That's good to hear," Dr. Fukui said, yet there was a hint of doubt in her voice. "So when do you want to see me next?"

"Actually…" Annie stated, biting her lip. "I won't need to see you anytime soon. The visions and weird dreams have stopped coming. I'd like to thank you though, Dr. Fukui but I won't need help anymore, I'll call you if I do need it though."


	5. Drown

Chapter 4: Drown

"You bastard… How could you… You ate all the cookies!"

Kisame looked at Zana, who stood at the door of the kitchen holding a baby blue kitchen knife. "First off, I didn't eat all of them… Second, I would appreciate if you put that knife down. Are you going to try to stab me over some cookies?"

"No, I want to stab you because I don't trust you," Zana explained, pointing the knife at him. "Also because I never got a cookie… And you look like a shark… And you have killed… How many people?"

"I lost count a while ago," He confessed, opening his hand, in it was a cookie. "Maybe even a long time ago."

Zana opened her mouth to say something, but Sam walked into the room. "What's going on?"

"Your 'BFF' here was bitching about not getting any cookies," Kisame explained casually. He shrugged, as if he didn't do anything bad. "Perhaps you should have made more."

"Even if we made more, you would have eaten all of them," Sam rolled her eyes. "And a guy your size would have no doubt eaten them all… Anyways, have you seen Annie?"

Kisame shook his head and Zana shrugged. "She went out a while ago to take Otis for a walk… Probably about 2 hours ago actually."

"She should be back by now, she isn't usually out that long," Sam said.

"She probably just took a different route or something. I'd relax if I were you."

"While you two worry about your 'BFF'," Kisame sighed. "I have somewhere else to be."

He made his way out of the kitchen, but before leaving he stopped to give Zana the last cookie, giving her a glare.. She accepted it awkwardly, both her and and Sam not speaking as Kisame left.

Sam shot her a look. "Does he even know what 'BFF' means?"

"Sorry, I educated them a bit on internet slang." Zana groaned. "I'm never doing that again. Kisame sounds like a tough, masculine, redneck dad when he tries to say 'BFF'..."

* * *

A warm summer breeze whispered through the forest, blowing Annie's hair into her eyes. Sighing, she stuck the leash in her mouth while she tied her hair up. The clouds were coming in, the sky turning a dull gray signaling that it would rain soon. Looking up at the sky, she started walking faster. Since it was now Summer, she expected to always be Sunny without a cloud in the sky. Except it always rained on Vancouver Island, she was just glad that she didn't live in Saskatchewan, where the winters were -40 Degrees or lower.

"Come on Otis," She said, lightly tugging on the leash. The German Shepard obeyed, padding on trail beside her. Her phone vibrated but she didn't look to see who texted her, she had been ignoring the text messages she had been getting.

'_Where the hell could this place be?' _She thought, she had looked every way for any clues about how the Akatsuki got here. She had visions about the clues, wrote them down or drew them, but it was trying to find the exact location that was hard.

She sighed when she had walked out into a clearing, the one she saw in her vision. In the middle of the clearing was a small, abandoned shack. Moss grew up it and the wood seemed to rot with age, she tied Otis' leash to a nearby tree and walked around the area, looking…

Until she found it, she had nearly stepped on it but slowly stepped back. On the other side of the shack was a circle, or what looked like a summoning circle. But around it was and inside of it was Japanese writing and strange symbols that Annie couldn't understand. She took her iPhone out, taking a few pictures of the strange symbol, then slipping it back into her pocket.

A branch snapped nearby, along with a rustling of leaves. _'I'm not alone? Somebody followed me.' _Otis was calm though, sitting near the trees. Annie reached into her other pocket, where her knife was. After a few minutes of looking around, there were no more noises. "Okay Otis, let's go."

They headed back home, Annie decided to use another trail back, the trail seeming to be oddly familiar to her. She walked in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest. For a moment, she wondered if she would be able to enjoy this peace again, after the Akatsuki went back to their world. But that hope had seemed to be lost, even Annie couldn't understand why but she had a feeling that maybe everything would truly change.

Otis stopped to pee behind a tree, Annie replied to the text messages she received from Zana and Sam. That was when it started to rain lightly and Annie cursed herself for not at least bringing a sweater with her. She turned around, but almost screamed. Itachi stood there, staring at her, rain drops dripping down his ink black hair.

"You know… You could have actually said something instead of scaring me like that!" Annie snapped. "Jesus fucking Christ..."

"I'm sorry," He said quietly. "Perhaps I should not have scared you like that."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "I hate to break it to you, but you did."

"What are you doing out here by yourself anyways?" He asked, moving closer towards her. Annie stepped away from him, almost tripping over a branch.

_'What a stupid question,' _Annie thought, trying to come up with a sarcastic response. "I came out here to plot my plans to overthrow the patriarchy. I brought Otis along to help me, he is very intelligent and dangerous, might I say. So far, all we've planned is... Uh, overthrowing the Provincial governments."

Itachi stared at her, he looked unamused at her response and she blushed. "Uh, sorry. I tend to be sassy and sarcastic, it's a bad habit of mine..."

"It's not the right attitude to have against us," Itachi explained, his voice cool. "Considering the situation."

Annie narrowed her eyes at him, her lower lip curling. "Oh I see what you're doing. You've come here to tell me to work with the Akatsuki? Nice try, but like I said before... We're not ready to decide yet. Considering we've known each other for about less than 24 hours, Kakuzu knocked me out and the rest of your psycho friends seem hell bent on murdering me."

"They are not my friends... And they won't kill you, they're simply suspicious of you." He said, more softly. "But I'm warning you now, they won't give you much time to decide."

Annie gently tugged on Otis' leash who was currently sniffing Itachi's feet. "I appreciate your advice Itachi. But I still don't see your point to this. Care to elaborate?"

"They don't trust you and you can't trust all of them... But you can trust me."

Annie froze looking at him. Even seeing him in all her visions, from the time he was a young innocent boy to the man he had now become, made a part of want to trust him. But another part of her, told her it was a bad idea. She couldn't do, she couldn't trust a man like Itachi Uchiha, but could she? Maybe she could risk it, throw all her doubts aside and trust him, but she couldn't do it. Not now, at least.

"_Trust should be earned, and should come only after the passage of time." _Annie repeated the quote without a pause, looking Itachi straight in the eyes as she said it. His expressionless face contorted into one of pain and hurt, for a moment, Annie felt a sharp pain of regret for saying it. But Itachi's expression changed back as if it didn't happen; a blank, unreadable and emotionless expression.

"I am sorry," He said, sounding gentle this time, which surprised Annie. "I didn't mean to pressure you. I just wanted to reassure you that... Never mind, goodbye Annie."

"Wait-" Annie yelled, but he disappeared so quickly. When she looked up and around her, he was gone as if he just vanished. All Annie could do was stand there, wondering just who he was and what he wanted.

XXXXXXX

"There you are," Kisame yelled, Itachi walked towards him from the distance, observing the lake. Kisame currently sat on the sandy shore, watching the rain fall as he waited for him. It had not seemed so long ago that they had met like this, before and after their missions. This lake had reminded of him of a place back in the Shinobi world, it was both oddly comforting and repulsive. "You took your sweet time, where were you?"

"I had something to do," Itachi said blankly, sitting beside him.

Kisame smirked. "You talked to Annie, didn't you?"

"I did," Itachi admitted.

"Did she decide yet?"

"She's still not ready to decide. It's a hard decision to make after all, especially after a few days." Itachi explained. "Perhaps we shouldn't be hard on her... But it wasn't my idea anyways to try and pressure her."

"I think it is, people crack under pressure... And then they give in," Kisame grinned/ "She's probably an easy girl to break, perhaps over time she could be like us."

Itachi frowned. "No one would want or could be like us."

It was silent between them for a moment, both of them looking out towards the lake. Kisame sighed, leaning back on his elbows and letting the rain fall on his face, the water feeling cool on his skin. "It's funny, I had accepted death so easily, had accepted that maybe I was not a terrible person… But now here we are, alive. Do you think that we're getting a second chance or something?"

"I never believed that was possible," Itachi said thoughtfully. "We shouldn't even be alive…"

"After all we've done? No, we shouldn't be…" Kisame mumbled. "But maybe terrible people like us don't deserve an honorable death. I guess that's all bullshit as well. But who the hell is able to bring us back from the dead, to a different world?"

"Who knows…" Itachi muttered. "I'm assuming that we will find out."

Kisame looked at him. "Do you think… Annie had something to do with all of it? That maybe she's connected to all of this?"

"If there was God, only he could do such a thing... What makes you think it could be her?"

"Out of those four girls, only one of them had a unique ability. They explained to me that no one in this world has any ability like that, and to see the future, is a rare ability, even to find in Shinobi. Do you remember what Pain said about her? That she's one of us, not one of them. Besides, you've seen her before haven't you?"

"Maybe I have…" Itachi said softly. "But even I can't really figure this out, she might know more than we do."

* * *

As soon as she got home, Annie went up to her room and closed the door. It was raining even harder out, pattering against the windows of the house. She sat at her desk, turning on her Mac book and then opening safari.

_'You can trust me.' _Itachi's words did not seem to leave her mind, repeating them self over and over. She opened her email, looking at the pictures she sent to herself. Thankfully, Annie knew how to read Japanese, all she had to do now was to figure out what exactly it had said in the strange symbol.

She opened each picture she took, rearranging it in the order she took the pictures. Once she had done that, she opened up her sketch book, drawing the symbol from both memory and from the photos she had taken. Setting the pencil down, she read the Japanese Kanji.

"Gateway to the other world," She muttered, writing it down in English just below the symbol she had drawn. Closing her Mac book, she made her way downstairs, bringing her sketchbook and her phone with her. Zana and Sam were in the living room, watching re-runs of _CSI: Miami_. Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori and Deidara were in the room as well, seeming to be intrigued by the crime show.

"What's up Annie?" Zana said. "You wanna go out in a bit? Me and Sam are bored and could use some… 'Freedom.'"

"Yeah, Sure," Annie shrugged. "But I need to talk to Pain first… Anyone know where he is?"

"He's upstairs, in the office," Kakuzu said, Annie thanked him and then went upstairs. She walked up the stairs slowly, feeling nervous about facing Pain. The door to the office was a jar, when she walked closer, she could hear voices. Hesitantly, she stopped by the door, leaning in closely to hear what they were saying.

"It's rude to eavesdrop," A voice spoke, it took her a second to realize that the voice came from inside the room. Annie froze, moving slowly towards the door but before she could even reach for the door knob, someone opened it. Kisame looked down at her, a look that would instantly make you feel intimidated.

"Um… Hi…" Annie stammered, feeling embarrassed for being caught eaves dropping. "I-"

"Kisame, bring her in," Pain spoke from inside the room. Nodding he pulled Annie by the arm, shoving her into the room and closing the door behind him.

The office was big, most people probably wouldn't even consider it to be an office. But her Dad had always called it that, doing his paperwork in here. In the right hand corner of the room was a grand piano, a fire place and a book shelf behind it holding large travel books, text books, classic literature, and most of all, some of Annie's favourite YA and fantasy novels. In the left hand corner of the room was a large mahogany desk, an iMac on top of it. Pain sat at the desk, looking at the computer strangely as if he was trying to figure out how it worked. Konan stood behind him and Itachi sat on the window edge, resting his head against the frame. Annie felt her heart stop seeing Itachi there, apparently there was no way to avoid him.

"Well, I see you've made yourself at home here," Annie said dryly. "And all the lights are off of course, how fitting for a group of criminals."

Pain looked at her, staring at her down. "Why are you wet?"

"I decided to take a shower in my clothes, I was getting bored of showering naked," Annie said sarcastically.

Kisame rolled his eyes, sighing. "That's really nice Annie, is that why you came here, to tell us about how your new showering habits?"

"No, I came here to give you advice on how to paint your nails better." She said, noticing the badly the painted nail polish they all donned.

"Stop with the sarcasm," Pain snapped. "Annie, what do you want?"

"Well it's not about what I want, it's about what you might want," Annie explained, she opened her sketchbook to the drawing, turning it towards Pain. "It's called 'Gateway to the other world' I suppose you've seen this?"

"Where the hell did you find this?" Konan asked.

Annie sighed. "Well, I didn't just go out to walk my dog… I went to find that. I'm pretty sure I had a vision of this, a while ago actually. But luckily I had another one."

"Why didn't you tell me before you found this that you had a vision about it?" Pain asked. "And how were you able to read this?"

"I can read Japanese and speak it. Having visions of the future isn't my only talent you know; I'm capable of other things." Annie shrugged. "I'm a girl of many other wonderful talents. I'm good at play the piano as well."

Itachi now stood beside her now, leaning over to look at the drawing. "That's Fuinjutsu… This is… Quite different though."

"That's true," Without warning, Pain snatched the sketchbook from Annie's hands. "Do you think you can figure it out Itachi?"

"Maybe, but I will need time," Itachi said, glancing at Annie.

Pain stared at the drawing, he was about to flip the page of the sketchbook but Annie snatched it away from his hand as quickly as she could. "No!"

"What was that for? Too shy to show off your artwork?" Kisame snickered.

"It's considered rude to look through someone's stuff without permission," Annie snapped, glaring at him. "And to take it from them without asking!"

"Hm," Pain grunted. "We have other important matters to take care of. Leave. Now."

Annie glared at him. "You're welcome. Me, Zana and Sam might be going out for a bit anyways, so you won't have to deal with our crap."

He said something back to her, but Annie didn't hear it as she had already stormed out of the room. Sam and Zana were still in the living room watching T.V. Sighing, she sat down on the couch, looking at the clock. It was only about three o'clock, the day seemed to be going by slowly and Annie just wanted it to end. Also, the _CSI: Miami_ episode that was playing was one that she had already seen about three times before, she'd rather be watching _Criminal Mind_s. Annie prefered that show over _CSI._

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, she was looking through the paper, most likely out of sheer boredom considering she never even read the paper.

"Um, yeah…" Annie muttered, running a hand through her hair. "I just need to get out of the house for a bit."

"Agreed," Zana groaned. "I'm tired of watching _CSI: Miami_ reruns, let's go do something somewhat fun…"

Annie snorted. "Is there even something fun to do in this town anymore?"

"There never was," Sam explained. "Except for when the fair comes to town, that's always fun."

"That's a shitty carnival though and the guys who work at it are sick creeps," Said Zana, rolling her eyes. "But I guess it's better than nothing…"

"Hey I'm getting real tired of being stuck in this fucking house as well," Hidan complained. "It wouldn't hurt to go outside…"

"NO!" Annie, Zana and Sam all yelled at once. Hidan growled, slumping in his seat cursing under his breath, something about human sacrifices. He shot a nasty glare at Annie, to which she simply rolled her eyes.

Annie stood up, looking through the sliding door. It had stopped raining and the gray clouds were starting to separate, the sun peaking through. This was normal B.C. weather, it would rain, and then stop, then become warm and sunny in the same day. Both Annie and Zana both liked to call B.C's weather 'bipolar weather' even though it wasn't always bipolar.

"We should go to the beach," Annie announced. "Airforce beach?"

Both Sam and Zana agreed, going up to Annie's room to get changed quickly before they left. Annie grabbed her car keys and her sketchbook, throwing it into her bag along with the book _City of Fallen Angels. _Zana and Sam bolted down the stairs slamming open the door and running outside as if they were trapped there for days, Annie peeked her head into the living room. "We're going out for a bit, we'll be back."

She turned around to head out the door but nearly walked right into Itach.i "Where are you going?"

"Uh… We're going to the beach… You know, doing normal people things," Annie said quietly, feeling her face turning red from being so close to Itachi. Deidara walked past her, giving her an odd look as he nudged past her.

"I'm coming with you."

"No you're not!" She snapped, she knew it was stupid to act like this around Itachi, but she didn't care at the moment. She stiffened expecting him to hit her, but he only looked at her blankly. Almost like an adult would look at a child.

"Whoa, calm down, you're not the boss here, un," Deidara laughed, Annie glared at him in response but he only smirked.

"Is this some excuse to keep stalking me?" Annie hissed.

"Not my decision. Pain told me that if you go out at anytime, me or any other Akatsuki member should go with you," Itachi explained. "Be thankful it's me instead of Hidan going. Now let's go."

Zana and Sam came back inside. "What the hell is taking you so long?"

"Itachi's joing us," Annie said, with a fake happy tone.

"Um, dressed like that?" Sam questioned. "He should put something else on."

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked. Apparently he had not thought of his own clothes not being normal. While he didn't wear the Akatsuki cloak, the sandals, the pants with the white belt, and his headband didn't look like something someone would wear everyday.

Annie looked at him. "What you're wearing is considered… Not normal apparel in our world."

"So then what am I going to wear instead?"

Annie rolled her eyes, grabbing Itachi by the arm and heading back up to her room. Once they were inside, she went into her walk in closet, pulling out some men's clothing that laid in pile on the floor. She pulled out a pair of shorts, the only ones that were there and a few t-shirts, walking out her closet she handed them to Itachi. "Try these on, see if they fit."

"May I ask why you have these clothes?" Itachi asked, Annie felt embarrassed again at the question, looking away from him. The reason she even had these clothes was ridiculous...

"They were my ex-boyfriends'…" Annie grumbled. "He had a habit of leaving his clothes here when he stayed the night."

Itachi didn't say anything, only gave her a peculiar look and walked into her closet to try the clothes on. She looked away, awkwardly playing with her hair _'Huh, so a guy I've been dreaming out who's trying to convince me to trust him is now in my closet putting on my ex-boyfriends clothes. He's evil most likely and has killed people, yet here I am. In my room with him. Just the two of us.'_

It was a few seconds before she realized he was standing front of her, he was wearing a pair of orang, blue and grey Billabong shorts and a gray V-nect T-shirt. "You look… Normal… But the eyes…"

He blinked and his red eyes faded to a jet black, Annie gasped in surprise. "Sharingan," He pointed out "It's an eye technique."

She just nodded heading back downstairs, Sam and Zana looked at her weirdly but she just shrugged. Fiddling with her car keys, she headed outside, getting into the driver's seat of the Jeep. Itachi stood away from it, seeming to be confused by the car. Sam told him to get into the passenger's seat and he silently obliged, staring at the seat belt before he buckled it.

"I called shot gun though," Zana complained.

"Too bad," Annie said, plugging her iPhone in and playing _Party Rock Anthem _by LMFAO. She started the car, backing it out of the driveway and heading out to Air force beach.

The drive to Air force beach was quiet; Itachi did not speak at all but observed everything they drove by. Occasionally, Annie felt him look at her and only a few times did she glance at him and then quickly look away, not wanting to stare at him for too long. There was an odd tension between them, but Annie refused to believe that there was one. All she wanted was to be normal, but normal was becoming an almost foreign word. It was funny how one moment your life seemed normal, then the next, it changes so rapidly.

When they reached the beach, Sam and Zana jumped out of the car running down the hill, Annie followed them, almost tripping as she ran on the sand. She stopped to put her stuff on the ground, leaning her bag against a large driftwood log. The sky was clear and blue, the warmth of the sand felt inviting on her feet, she breathed in the air, the familiar smell of salt and seaweed. Her father and mother would take her here during the Summer, they would camp out at the campground and spend the days on the beach. At the time, Annie was afraid to swim in the water, she used to have a fear of swimming in the ocean.

Tara slowly made her way into the water while Zana ran in, splashing through the ocean water. Annie just observed them along with Itachi, who was silent as always, he did not seem to have any interest in swimming.

"Ah! It's cold!" Zana yelled, running out of the water towards them.

"It's the ocean idiot, of course it's going to be cold," Annie laughed, Itachi looked at her and then towards the ocean. "So are you going to swim or not?"

"No… I don't think so," Zana shook her head. "Maybe I will… Later. Plus, there's seaweed... I hate seaweed, it's gross."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Oh _come on_ Zana, remember what I told you a few days ago? Fear doesn't shut you down it wakes you up. So just go for it. Also, why do so many people hate seaweed so much? They act like it's going to choke you or something..."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam said, rolling her eyes at them. "That's a quote from a book… But I agree, let's get Zana in the water."

"By force?!" Zana screamed. "Guys! I can do it myself- AHH!"

Annie and Sam grabbed Zana by her arms and dragged her out towards the water. She screamed in protest and as they got into the water she shrieked even louder, making the other beach goers look at them strangely. Annie and Sam laughed and eventually Zana gave up and stopped screaming, walking into the water slowly. Itachi stared after them, sitting on one of the driftwood logs with his elbows on his knees, his hands folded. He didn't laugh or smile at the girls, his face remained blank.

"Okay… This isn't so bad," Zana said, slightly wavering in the water as she walked further in.

"You know who would laugh so hard at this?" Annie grinned. "Kisame."

"I don't like him, he's an asshole," Said Zana."But he gave me the last cookie, so that makes up a little for the asshole part of him... Also, his name is Bruce."

"Awww, Zana has a crush!" Annie teased, nudging her in the ribs. "Kisame and Zana, sitting in a tree-"

"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU ANNIE IF YOU DON'T STOP!" Zana shrieked, violently splashing water at her. But Annie just laughed, splashing her back with water. "HEY! What the hell!"

Annie cackled, continuing to splash Zana and Sam with water. "Hey I'm just teasing…"

"Vengeance!" Zana yelled, splashing more water at Sam and Annie. It had soon turned into a splashing war, but Annie had a different plan. Moving closer to Zana, she grabbed her by the shoulders and dunked her into the water, laughing as she released her. "You will pay for that Annie!" Zana shrieked.

"Not unless you can catch me first," Annie grinned, swimming away from them. Zana and Sam followed, laughing as Zana attempted to catch Annie but she was faster. They stopped, not feeling comfortable swimming out farther but Annie kept swimming, the cold ocean waves splashing her face. She was aware that she was farther out then she might have intended to be, but it didn't matter, she felt free when she was in the water.

"Hey guys you should-" There was suddenly a strange flash, for a moment everything was black but a vision started to form.

Instead of seeing the water she was seeing blood. Dead bodies floating in the water, with what looked to be ships burning in the distance, no, they weren't in the distance, they were around her. She could barely see the sky, only ashes and smoke, but something moved through it, a plane? She looked closely again, but it had disappeared. The next moment, she was not in the water but on land. Everything here was burning, bloody and burnt corpses everywhere. When she raised her hands, they were covered in blood. _'No… Oh God no…' _She tried to wipe it off, but she was covered in it, from her hair to her feet, she reeked of blood and death.

"What the hell… No, NO!" Still the blood didn't go away, and no matter how hard she tried to wipe it away, more seemed to appear. Soon the whole ground was covered in blood, slowly turning into a small pool of it and going up to her knees. Annie screamed, trying to run away but she couldn't move.

"Annie!"

"Stop! Stop it!" She cried as someone grabbed her arm, pulling her away. "STOP!"

"ANNIE!"

She gasped, raising her head. She was no longer in the water, but on the shore of the beach. It was normal, there was no blood, there were no dead bodies or ash and fire, it was as if nothing happened. Someone had their arms around her, when she looked, Itachi stared at her holding her tightly. Normally, she would have turned away just from his touch, but there was something comforting about the way he held her now, as if his arms were meant to be around her body.

Zana looked at her, wide eyed and paled. "What the hell happened back there?"

"I… Don't know…" Annie whispered, shivering slightly. "I need to go sit down."

She tried to move but realized she was shaking even harder now, Itachi grabbed her by her waist, guiding her to one of the drifwood logs. For some reason, all the tension and nervousness left as Itachi held her, Annie refused to believe that it was because of him. But she relaxed more once they reached the sand, sitting down on the sand and leaning against a large driftwood log.

"Dude, are you okay?" Zana asked, offering her towel to Annie, who took it and wrapped it around herself.

Annie shook her head, feeling exhausted and weak. "I don't know… I don't know what the hell just happened..."

"Well at least you're alive," Sam said quietly, she put a hand on Annie's shoulder and looked at Itachi. "If Itachi wasn't out there, you would probably be dead. You would have drowned."

Annie looked at him but he was looking out across the water, the wind blowing his black hair out of his face. What was he thinking? His expression was always so hard to read, you could never understand what he might have been feeling or thinking. But this time, his expression seemed to be of one of confusion and uncertainty.

There was a moment where none of them spoke, they simply all looked at each other strangely, trying to figure out what happened. Except Annie, who still shook not with cold but in fear and shock of the vision she just had. It was terrifying, she had never had a vision like that before, the worse ones she had were of seeing the Akatsuki die. It was not too long ago she had those visions, she always thought they were just some strange dream, but they were very much real.

"Uh… Sam why don't we go up to the store to get some snacks?" Zana suggested, kicking sand around with her feet. She seemed to be tense and nervous. "Do you need anything Annie? I mean, you seem pretty shocked right now, maybe you need something to drink. Coffee? Tea?"

"I need to sit down for a bit... But I think coffee won't do so good with my nerves right now. Just get me water, I'll pay you back if you want." She said. Sam and Zana nodded, making their way up the hill, looking back at Annie as they walked.

Itachi only glanced at them as they left turning his gaze to Annie, who sighed. He stared at her, but seemed to be thinking something as well and Annie found herself staring back at him, almost unsure of what to say.

"Has that happened before?" He asked quietly, sitting down beside her, but not too close to her.

"No…" Annie replied, shaking her head. "God, it was terrible though... You probably should have just let me drown..."

He blinked, not saying anything. He only looked away, seeming to be in thought again. Annie didn't bother to ask again, he didn't seem to be the type to be that talkative. But for some reason, she wanted to say more to him. "You're not like the rest of them are you?"

That got his attention, he looked at her, still quiet and she continued talking "I mean… Well… Hidan claims he's immortal, Kakuzu's overly obsessed with money, Sasori's a puppet… Deidara is obsessed with blowing stuff up and he looks like teenage boy struggling with his sexuality or gender. Pain seems like a robot… Zetsu's a plant, and Kisame's a shark man… Who is also kind of scary and twisted. I mean you compared to them, you're definitely not that twisted… I mean I guess, what I'm trying to say is that you don't seem evil… Or excessively evil if that makes sense. To me, you seem actually… Somewhat normal..."

Annie realized that she was speaking all of these things out of honesty, and realized that this was how she felt about Itachi. Embarassed, she looked away, feeling stupid for saying too much."Sorry, I tend to talk too much… It's a bad habit I guess."

"That's okay." He said, Annie felt somewhat relieved knowing that maybe she didn't make a complete fool out of herself just then. Reaching for her bag, she opened it to get out her sketchbook, but when she reached in and felt around for it, it wasn't there.

"What the hell?" She looked into her bag, but her sketchbook wasn't there. She knew she put it in her bag before she left the house, where could it have gone?

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked.

"My sketchbook is gone…" Annie sighed. "I swore I put it into my bag… But it's not here…"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "You might have left it at home."

"Maybe… But I put it in here…" She muttered. Her stomach dropped when she realized that maybe, somehow one of the Akatsuki members might have snatched it from her bag when she wasn't looking. _'No, no… I would have seen it…' _She reassured herself that maybe it was in her car instead.

But Annie knew she had to think of the worst. At that moment she was sure yet unsure of her choice, but she knew that she had to make the decision, it was now or never after all, right? She knew her father would kill her for this and her mother would try to ground her for life. Yet Annie never thought too much about this, she thought only of the future, of the Akatsuki and of her friends. What fate would lie before them? Whatever it was, she knew it wouldn't be the greatest and that the rest of the summer, or the next few years might be hell.

'_Don't worry about it, I'm brave… I'm brave for making such a stupid decision.' _She thought _'I might be fucking up my own life right now anyways… But maybe now is not the right time._

"Itachi," She said, taking a deep breath.

"Yes?" He said looking at her with curiousity, seeming to sense something wrong.

"I..." But her voice faltered, losing all courage. "Thank you... For saving my life today."


	6. Conflicts

Chapter 5: Conflicts

Time slowed down, even though it seemed to always slow in moments of tension it seemed to go slower when your two best friends were currently looking at you as if about to kill you. Annie scratched her ear, clearing her throat. Itachi wasn't with them now, Annie had told him that she wanted to talk to Zana and Sam in private. He agreed to let her to, so she walked up the hill to meet them, wondering if she was losing her mind. _'Zana and Sam will think that I have lost my mind...' _She thought, glumly. _'But I have no other choice...'_

"I hope you're not serious about this Annie…" Zana said quietly. "I really fucking hope you're not serious about this…"

"She is." Sam said flatly. "But I can't be mad I guess, I mean what other choice do we have?"

Zana ground her teeth, glaring at Sam. "Have at least a little reason! It's only been about three days? And yet Annie… You're suggesting we do this?!"

Annie sighed, running a hand through her now damp hair. "Look... I know it's crazy. But I think it's maybe a good plan. We only help the Akatsuki if they teach us to be Shinobi as well. I mean, if we're going to be part of the Akatsuki, we have to learn to fight like them... Maybe to kill like them, even though I don't like the idea of killing someone. We have to learn to protect ourselves, to protect each other."

"If they agree to this plan, that in it's self, is a miracle," Zana groaned, starting to pace back and forth. "In fact, the day they agree to this plan is the day that Hidan that Hidan gives up Jashinism or become a Christian. And we all know that's not going to happen. Ever!"

"We really would have to convince them, or find a way to convince them otherwise," Sam noted, smirking a little at Zana's comment. "But I think that they wouldn't agree... Because most of them hate us... Well, except Itachi..."

Annie thought back to earlier that day, when Itachi had approached her in the forest. "Out of all them... I think we can trust him the most."

"Oh, there you go… Of course you're already trusting the pretty boy, have a crush on him or something?" Zana said sarcastically, Annie's cheeks burned with embarrassment, trying to hid her face. She turned away from them, looking out over the hill at the ocean. Down at the beach, young children built sand castles and played in the water, while an older couple strolled along the beach with their dog. They all lived a normal life, a life Annie thought she had lived up until now. For a moment, she envied these people, they way they lived their life, knowing that there was nothing strange or off about their own lives.

"I'm sorry, Annie," Zana said, walking up and standing beside her. "I shouldn't have said that... I mean, I'm just frustrated and confused. You must be as well."

"I understand, just be glad you're not me…" Annie said bitterly. "I have to deal with so much stupid shit... And not to mention, these strange visions..."

Zana was quiet for a moment before speaking again, her voice almost a whisper. "You've been having visions about him haven't you?"

"Itachi you mean? What makes you think that…?

"Oh God, from the millions of drawings of him in your sketchbook," Zana pointed out. "I… Looked through your sketchbook while you went to the washroom during art class. I was curious to see what you were always drawing… And the way you look at him as well. That day we found him in the forest, you saw him and looked at him as if you've met him before."

"I know that you did, Zana," Annie couldn't help but laugh a little. "And to answer your other question… Yes, I've been having… Dreams… Uh, I mean visions about him."

"For how long?" Sam asked.

Annie frowned. "Um… A few years now."

"… How many years exactly?"

"Well I started having visions about him when I was around 5 or 6 I think."

"Dude," Zana gawked. "That's like 12 years, that is not normal."

"I know it isn't, but every vision I've had, he's always been trying to help me… To protect me," Annie explained. She decided to leave out the part where he murdered his whole clan, that would horrify Sam and Zana. "It's weird because I want to trust him, but another part of me doesn't. I just... I just don't know what to do."

Zana sighed "I guess I can trust him… It's just Kisame I can't trust or the rest of them… Especially Hidan, he's creepy as hell. And have you seen the way he looks at us? Like we're some kind of meat or something. Hopefully he won't kill us in our sleep."

"Look…" Said Annie. "When we go home I can show you my drawings and my journal as well, because I've been writing this stuff down."

"I thought you brought your sketchbook with you," Sam pointed out. "Didn't you put it in your bag?"

"It somehow went missing…" Annie said. "I thought I put in my bag, but I can't find it, I even checked the car."

Sam just shook her head, looking puzzled. "That's strange I wonder who took it…"

Annie didn't say anything, she only sighed, maybe having an idea of who took it but refusing to believe that one of the Akatsuki did take it. The thought made her sick, but she tried pushing it away as they headed back down to the beach.

Xxxxxx

The sunlight streamed into the room, casting a golden glow among the walls, small dust motes floating in the air. Pain observed the room quietly as Konan stood beside him, still and quiet as well. Tobi sat in one of the armchairs, flipping through a sketchbook, Annie's sketchbook. Kisame looked over his shoulder at the book, snickering at one point. If Annie had known that they had her sketchbook, she would truly be enraged but it didn't matter to Tobi.

"Very interesting," Tobi said, though Pain knew Tobi wasn't his real name. "Not just her artistic talent but what she's been drawing as well."

Konan shifted, looking at him with suspicion in her eyes. "How did you get it anyways?"

"Deidara took it out of her bag while she was talking with Itachi," Tobi explained coolly. "He snatched it out of her bad while she wasn't looking. Of course, she was too oblivious to notice he had taken it. I took it, saying I wanted to see how good her drawings were."

"Anything else of interest?" Pain asked

"Tch, lots of drawings of Itachi," Kisame grinned in amusement.

"That and this… It's an Oak tree," Tobi held the drawing up for them to see. Pain stared at the detailed drawing of the Oak tree, it seemed to be an old one, it's branches stretching out and curving out to the edges of the page. At the bottom of the page was a date, May 12th 2011.

"What does the date mean?" Pain asked.

"There's multiple drawings of this tree, each with a different date. There's one in here from 2000," Tobi explained. "The same is with the drawings of Itachi, there are more drawings of him then of the tree. The earliest date of one I found is the date February 3rd 2009."

"This means that these pictures that she's drawing are of visions that she's been having more than once," Said Konan. "Which explains the dates…"

"Exactly," Tobi said, a hint of what seemed to be amusement in his voice. "Which is why I should ask her a few things about this."

"You will not interrogate her or hurt her," Pain said. "Remember the deal…"

Tobi looked at him, from the one eyehole of his mask his eye glinted red. "She seems stubborn to answer our questions, besides, what if she fails us in the end?"

"She won't. I'll make sure of that, we'll make sure of that," Pain explained, looking at Konan who nodded. Though there was some hesitation in her expression.

"I think someone like her has the potential to be a very powerful Kunoichi," Tobi explained. Pain didn't understand what more he saw in a 17 year old girl like Annie. Sure, she could see the future, but she didn't have much control over it. "But none the less, it would be a waste if we had to kill her."

He set the sketch book down on the desk and then left the room. Pain stared at the sketchbook, it was open to a page with a Japanese dragon, it's red scales glinting gold as flames surrounded it. In the drawing, it seemed to be breaking free from a cage, it's mouth opened in a roar of victory and the tips of it's horns burning red.

Xxxxx

Annie slammed the door closed once they were inside the house, sighing and leaning against it. From the living room, the T.V. was on, it sounded like the News. Sam and Zana were quiet and didn't move, all looking at each other, while Itachi walked upstairs into the living room.

"We're back," Annie yelled. It was a habit of hers to yell that whenever she got home, whether it was from school or work, not like the Akatsuki would care that she was home. She walked up to the living room, pausing at the entry way. All the Akatsuki, minus Pain and Konan, were casually sitting there on the couches, when they saw Annie, they all looked at her.

"Annie-Chan!" Tobi yelled, running up to her. Annie backed away though as he got closer to her, afraid that he would hug her. She didn't understand how a man his age could act like such a child, it was strange, too strange. But she froze when she saw what he was holding in his hands, a sketchbook. Her sketchbook.

"Tobi, where the hell did you get that?" She shrieked in horror. Reaching out, she tried to grab the Sketchbook but he backed away, giggling. "It's disrespectful to take someone's stuff idiot, give it back!"

"I'm sorry Annie-Chan, I didn't take it in the first place," He said apologetically, handing back her notebook. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Deidara and Kisame were snickering. "Deidara-Chan took it."

She turned to Deidara who only smirked. That only made her more furious. "Just because you're a criminal, does not mean you can have some manners! Want to explain yourself, asshole?!"

"Hey! I was curious to see your artwork, since everyone here was talking about it, un," Deidara grinned, walking over to her to stand by Itachi. He regarded him with a nasty look, which Itachi ignored. "It was interesting, it was very… Nice."

"Hey blondie, show her my favourite picture," Hidan yelled. Without any warning, Deidara snatched the sketchbook from her hands. Flipping through the pages, he showed it to her. Annie felt her face burn, staring at the most recent picture she drew of Itachi. She was aware that Deidara and Hidan were laughing at her and everyone else was looking at her. She tried to look away but couldn't and she felt as if she couldn't breath. It wasn't just embarrassment, it was almost like being bullied, like the way it was back in Elementary and Middle school.

Zana was tired of watching them tease Annie, she walked right up to Deidara, glaring at him. "Leave her alone you asshole!"

"Yeah, this is very nice, un," Deidara snickered, ignoring Zana as if she was just an ant. Itachi stood by her, but she couldn't bear to look at him. For a moment she forgot everything, everything but her anger. This was a moment where it was hard to control her anger. _'Just breathe' _her school counselors and therapist had told her.

Right beside the doorway was a decorative mirror, under it was table and in the drawers was a gun. Annie looked at the mirror, just barely able to stand to see her own reflection. She was surprised she wasn't crying yet, she reached to the handle of the drawer but a hand gripped her wrist. Itachi glanced at her for only a second before snatching the sketchbook from Deidara's hands, glaring at him nastily.

"That's enough, Deidara," He said coldly.

"What the hell, un?!" He snapped, his expression furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "Not being an idiot, unlike you."

"Tch, always think that you're so tough, un," Deidara snarled, he moved closer to Itachi, glaring him down. Well, not exactly glaring him down, considering he was shorter than Itachi. "I could have beat you that day, I want a second match."

"So that he can kick your ass again?" Kisame laughed. "I'd pay to see that."

"Oh fuck…" Zana muttered, grabbing Annie by the arm and pulling her away from Deidara and Itachi. The T.V. was off now and all the Akatsuki were now on their feet, observing the two Shinobi. Annie's hand reached back for the drawer, her palms sweaty as she slowly opened it.

"Shut up!" Deidara hissed. "I'm not the one who seems to be strangely obsessed with a random teenage girl."

Annie bit her lip, holding back a laugh. "What can I say? I can't help that I'm so ridiculously good looking, it tends to have an effect on people."

"Stay out of this," Kakuzu glared at her, she shot a dangerous look at him but it had no affect._ 'I will not be seen as a weak, useless, teenage girl,' _She thought _'I will not let them bully me and harass me like this.'_

_'Think he's just jealous because Itachi's brother killed,' _Annie thought, trying so hard not to say that out loud. She looked at Deidara, who's face was currently flushed with anger. _'First he was defeated by Itachi and then he was killed by Sasuke... Does he know that Sasuke is alive?"_

"Seriously?!" Zana yelled, sounding panicked. "Are you fucking 12 or something? We're not going to let them fight it out inside the house!"

"They're not really doing anything," Sam pointed out, Annie's hand slipped inside the drawer, her hands felt for the cool metal of the gun, but she hesitated to take it. Shooting the gun would not be a good idea, because her neighbors would call the police if they heard gun shots in her house. "They're just glaring at each other."

"Yeah but we got ourselves into the middle of a-"

"Shut up you two!" Deidara snapped, glaring at both of them. "They're both so useless and annoying I don't understand why we have to deal with them."

"Because one of them is going to help us," Itachi explained.

Deidara rolled his eyes, Annie's heart pounded as he reached into the small pouch that held his clay, pulling something out. A kunai knife... Without a moment's hesitation, Annie stepped between them, throwing her arms up. She gasped, not realizing that Deidara had lifted the kunai and was about to strike her or rather, Itachi, with it. He froze, as soon as Annie stepped between him and Itachi.

"You know as much as I like fight scenes in movies, I would like not to see one in my living room," Annie laughed nervously, the knife that Deidara held glinted in the sunlight. "Remember, what I said? No fighting in the house, put the weapon away, Deidara-_chan_."

"Are you stupid?!" Deidara exclaimed, clearly agitated that Annie had stopped him from attacking Itachi. "Don't get yourself in the middle of this-"

_Yellow diamonds in the light _

_Now we're standing side by side_

_As your shadow crosses mine_

_What it takes to come alive_

Everyone was silent as 'We found love' by Rihanna and Calvin Harris played, it was coming from someone's phone, Annie's phone. Slowly, she pulled it out of her pocket, looking at the screen, it was her Dad calling. The phone vibrated in her hand as everyone looked at her. "I need you all to be quiet, okay?"

"What is that?" Sasori asked, intrigued by Annie's iPhone, or rather, her ringtone.

"I'll tell you after. Now can we please be quiet because my Dad is calling!" She snapped. To her surprise, all of the Akatsuki remained silent, though Hidan muttered something under his breath, while glaring at her. Pressing the call button, she put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi sweetheart," Her dad's familiar gruff voice seemed to ring into her head. "How are things going?"

"Oh Dad, things… Are going great fantastic!" Annie said in the most enthusiastic tone she could muster. Everyone in the room was looking at her now, Zana rolled her eyes. "Just great as usual. The weather can't make up it's mind, it's been raining and sunny today, Otis is fine by the way. And uh... Yeah, not much else to report... To be honest. Oh, Zana and Sam have been staying over as well."

"Sounds fun," He said. "So what have you trouble makes been up to?"

Annie laughed, it was a somewhat nervous laugh since Deidara now still the Kunai in his hand, glaring at her. "What we do best Dad… Staying out of trouble! You know… We've… Been to Stotem falls, went to the beach today, binge watched T.V. shows and movies… Oh we watched Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 1, it was surprisingly… Good."

"Really? I thought you hated Twilight."

"Not really I guess…" Annie said, looking at the Akatsuki with a nervous smile. "Um… I think I should go now Dad… Me, Zana and Sam have plans to go out again…"

"Are you sure everything's alright?" He asked, sounding concerned now.

"Oh yeah! Everything's fine, but I'll talk to you later…"

"Alright… Your mom sent you an email by the way, you should skype with her soon okay?" He said.

"I definitely will, Dad," Said Annie."I'll talk to you later."

After her Dad said goodbye, Annie ended the call, looking at the rest of the Akatsuki. She then felt the edge of a knife at her throat and froze. "Okay, cool. Go ahead, slit my throat. Not like dying is the worst thing in the world anyways..."

"You're the one that got in my way... AH!" Before Deidara could finish what he was saying, Itachi had hit him with such force that he flew back into one of the couches, toppling over it and onto the coffee table. He jumped back on his feet, recovering quickly from the attack. Itachi grabbed Annie by the elbow and pushed her out of the room, Sam and Zana following her.

Annie's vision started to blur, like earlier. _'No, this can't be happening now…' _All the voices around her seemed to be mere echoes now, replaced with different voices. Someone was shaking her arm, trying to snap her back to reality.

"Annie are you okay?" Sam said, she shook her head as if she were in a dream.

"I… I don't think I feel so good… Honestly." She said quietly, trying to ignore the screams and yells of the Akatsuki. "I'm going to my room, you can deal with them…"

Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Annie walked out of the living room, faster than she anticipated. Zana yelled at her but she couldn't hear her, she was hearing something else, voices, but she didn't know exactly where they were coming from. Once she walked into her room, she slammed the door behind her, locking it.

Laying on the bed, she closed her eyes, and opened them again. Everything seemed to be snapping back and forth from reality to a dream...

'_What the hell is happening to me…'_

Xxxx

Sam and Zana looked at each other, confused yet concerned about Annie's antics. Today was becoming more and more crazy, it was affecting not just Annie but Zana as well. Sam was the most calm out of the three of them, even now she managed to stay calm, miraculously. They noticed that Annie had left her bag on the table, but had taken her sketchbook with her to her room.

Pain entered the room, along with Konan. Sensing the obvious tension between Deidara and Itachi, he observed them through narrowed eyes. "What is going on?"

"Nothing," Itachi said calmly. "Deidara simply lost his temper."

Zana snorted. "Well actually, Deidara was about to attack him then Annie came between him, nearly _killing _her-"

"Where is she?" Pain cut Zana off, earning a glare from her to which he ignored.

"She went to her room," Sam pointed out. "She's not feeling well."

"What's wrong with her?" Konan asked, looking at Zana and Sam suspiciously.

"Um… I don't know, she wasn't feeling good earlier," Sam explained.

Pain just looked at them and back at Deidara. "Learn to control yourself, Deidara."

Deidara only growled, storming out of the living room. The rest of the Akatsuki either stayed in the living room to watch the news or left. Zana and Sam decided to go outside on the deck, sitting in the baby blue lounge chairs. For a few minutese they just sat there, watching the sun start to set. Zana's phone vibrated, she looked at the screen, it was a text from Annie. Swiping the screen, she opened the text to read it:

_I'm not feeling good right now, I just need to be left alone for awhile._

"She sent me the same text," Sam yawned. "After what happened today… Maybe that's why she isn't feeling well."

"You think so?" Zana muttered, feeling quite tired herself. "Everything now… It's just going to change isn't it?"

Sam smiled, a sad smile with uncertainty in her eyes. "Of course it is… I'm going to get something to drink, you want anything?"

"I guess some coffee, with milk and sugar," Zana said, thinking that she might need another cup or two of coffee to get through the day. Who knows what else would happen, maybe Hidan would try to kill someone. She shuddered at the thought.

Sam nodded, announcing that she would get some tea for herself. Unlike Annie and Zana who were coffee addicts, Sam didn't like coffee and preferred tea. Zana leaned back in the lounge chair, staring up at the sky which was a mix of pink, orange and blue. Pulling her iPhone from her pocket, she put her ear plugs in, listening to _Tegan and Sara. _Through the music, she could hear footsteps on the deck, assuming it was Sam with her coffee, she pulled one of her earplugs out and turned around.

Except it wasn't Sam sitting on the lounge chair, but Kisame. To Zana's amusement, his skin matched the color of the chairs and he was so tall that his feet dangled off the end of the chair. She tried to hold back a laugh. "Oh... Hi, Bruce."

"My name is not Bruce," He growled, narrowing his eyes at her. "It's Kisame, Kisame Hoshigaki."

"Do I look like I care, Kisame... Husagakookiaka? Because I don't, to be honest."

He clenched his jaw, looking at her with great distaste. "Don't ever say that again."

"I won't!" Zana snapped at him, continuing to listen to her music. She decided she would try her best to ignore him. Maybe if she ignored him, he would eventually go away.

"What's wrong with Annie?"

"I don't know, she isn't feeling good… She's feeling sick," Zana said, avoiding eye contact with him.

"You are a very bad liar, has anyone else ever told you that?" He said, glaring at her again. "Now I'll ask again, what's wrong with her?"

Zana ripped her ear plug out setting her phone on the arm rest of her chair, she turned towards Kisame glaring at him. "Why don't you ask Itachi? He might know something."

"He doesn't really know, she won't come out of her room or even say anything about it. That's why I figured I would ask you," He explained. "I mean, you're her best friend you should at least have an idea of what's happening to her."

"I have more than an idea, I've… Had to help her with a lot stuff she's gone through."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well… Uh… Since Annie didn't know or believe she was having visions of the future… So her parents made her go see a therapist or a Psychiatrist… The psychiatrist said that she might have had FTD, Frontotemporal Dementia. Well, she said that Annie was showing some symptons of it," Zana explained "It's a brain disease that causes cell damages… Basically, it causes tissue shrinkage and uh, reduced functioned in the brains frontal and temporal lobes. Of course the Frontal and temporal lobes control things such as planning, judgement, emotions, speaking and understanding speech. So um, the symptons of the disease are unwillingness to talk… Change in personality and mood… Depression, obsessive or repetitive behavior… And honestly, that's as much as I know."

"And after that?"

"She went in for an MRI to see if her brain was showing any cell degeneration… But her brain is or was perfectly fine… So after that, her therapist gave her some kind of medicine to help with the visions, and right now she's fine… I think." Zana said quietly, realizing that talking about it made her sad, or hollow. "Before that, she was really, really depressed and would barely talk… It was as if she was drawing herself away from reality and for awhile we thought we were losing her… All of us were afraid that we were losing her in away. Her parents took it really hard, apparently her Aunt did die of the disease or something like that..."

Kisame was silent for moment, thinking about what Zana said. "So, she never told you anything about her visions?"

"No… She didn't," Zana said. "I mean she told us some stuff… But I think it would be better to ask her because you know, she's the one having the visions."

"Hmph, whatever," Kisame grumbled leaning back on the lounge chair with his hands behind his head. Zana did the same, looking up at the sky, unsure of what to say. Kisame didn't seem like the type for casual or random conversations, but she wanted to ask him something.

"Um… Kisame… Can I ask you something?" She asked, feeling slightly awkward.

"You already asked." He said, uninterested.

"Okay, well I'm going to ask you anyways…" Zana rolled her eyes. "I was wondering… Have you heard of anyone having the same kind of ability that Annie has? Is it common?"

He shook his head, looking at her. "Not at all, she's the first person we've heard of having this ability."

"Oh okay…" Zana said silently, she stared out in the distance but realized that Kisame was staring at her, making her feel more uncomfortable. "Why are you starting at me like that?"

"It's nothing… You just kind of look like someone I know," He said and before Zana could reply, he got up and went back inside leaving her alone before for a few minutes before Sam came back outside.

"You okay?" She asked, handing her food to her.

Zana cringed slightly, "Yeah… I am, I guess."

XXX

_Tick tock, tick tock…_

Annie stared at the clock, her sketchbook on her lap and pencil in her hand. She was thinking of something but ended up zoning and staring at the clock instead. Looking back at the unfinished drawing, she sighed, choosing to pace around her room instead.

Ever since her vision from earlier that day, ever since the visits to her therapist, she started to think that maybe there was a way to control her visions. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could get a more clear vision instead of something blurry and confusing.

'_There must be a way for me to do this, maybe without the Akatsuki's help…' _she thought, biting her lip.

It had felt like hours, pacing back and forth in her room. At one point she lied on the hardwood floor of her bedroom, tapping her fingernails on the floor. For a moment, she wondered if she could be like Charles Xavier from _X-men_ and make some kind of device that would improve her powers like he did. But he was telepathic and Annie could see the future. In a way, she was like a mutant, she had always wanted to be one.

She had resorted to looking through her sketchbook, she flipped it open to the page of the most recent drawing of Itachi. Leaning her chin on her hand, she traced her fingers over the drawing, from the hair to the eyes. She had realized that Itachi's eyes were always red and never their true colour which was black. In her previous drawings of him, she realized that he was thinner and would always have his arm resting inside his cloak.

There was a knock at the door, Annie hastily closed her notebook, getting up from the floor and opening the door. She sighed in frustration, seeing Kakuzu waiting at the door with his arms crossed.

"Am I being summoned?" Annie said sarcastically.

"Upstairs in the office," Kakuzu said, ignoring Annie's sarcasm. "Bring your sketchbook."

It was only in a few minutes that she found herself sitting one of the arm chairs in the office, Zana and Sam on either side of her. The Akatsuki all stood around them, staring at her as if expecting some kind of explanation from her. Kisame pulled a chair in front of him, the back facing them and sat in it, leaning his arms on the back of the chair.

"Oh God…" Annie groaned. "He did the thing…"

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "What thing?"

"The way you just sat in your chair, that's the 'You're in trouble so I'm gonna sit her and interrogate you forever' position," Annie explained. "My Dad does it all the time, especially when I'm in trouble."

"Mr. Young does it sometimes," Zana added.

"That's not important," Pain explained, glaring at Zana. "What's important is figuring out how to get back to our world, with Annie's help."

Annie rolled her eyes, "Is that why you took my sketchbook without asking my permission?"

"That was important information we needed."

"Which you could have asked me to look at…" Annie sighed. "What exactly do you want me to do? "

"Anything to do with getting back to our world," Kisame said. "Like that seal you found, if you could tell us more about it, if you know anything about it that is."

"Also…" Deidara added. "If you could tell us when we will go back, that would be nice, hm."

Annie froze, starting to feel slight anxiety come over her like a wave. She did not do well under pressure. "Uh… I guess, I could try. When do you… Want to… Know?"

"Now."

'_Jesus fucking Christ… I'm so gonna die.' _Annie thought biting her lip, she tapped her pencil on her notebook, over and over. A habit she had for whenever she felt anxious. Everyone in the room was looking at her, expecting for her to do something, but she couldn't. All the times she had a vision of the future it was… Uncontrolled, it would come into her mind at any random moment. But she couldn't figure out how to get an exact vision.

"I can't," Annie blurted out. "I don't know how to do this… Whole looking into the future thing. This thing I have is not like an On and Off switch, I just… Can't control it."

"What the fuck is she talking about?" Hidan yelled. "She has this… Incredible power yet she has no fucking idea how to use it? That's fucking stupid!"

"Okay seriously… Before any of you start bitching about how Annie can't do anything, let me explain," Zana yelled, much to her and Annie's surprise, they were quiet and focused their attention on her. "So in this world… It's not believed at all that people can see the future, if Annie were to tell someone that she could, she would most likely be thrown into a mental hospital and be given a shit load of strange medicine. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense. Because my best friend here just recently found out that she could see the future when her therapist told her that she had FTD. So no, of course she's not going to know how to control it! And if you really need help, maybe you can help her!"

"Help her, control her powers? How?" Kisame asked.

Konan looked at Pain. "I think it might actually be worth a shot."

"Um, I was being sarcastic on that part but sure… Let's try that…" Zana sighed. "So… Annie how long have you been having these visions?"

Annie was silent for a moment, thinking about her question. "I don't know… They probably started coming when I was about 5 or 6."

"What's the point of asking questions like this?" Sasori asked.

"Maybe it could help us figure out how to help her," Sam said.

Pain got up from the desk moving his chair and setting it down in front of Annie, this didn't help her anxiousness. He seemed to observe her for a moment before speaking. "What types of visions have you been having?"

"Well, it's hard to remember because some of them seemed more like dreams…" Annie said. "But I do remember now… I think I had one vision when I was around maybe 10. Uh… I was in the forest by myself I'm pretty sure and I started having this strange vision… There was a boy, he had blonde hair and whisker markings on his face… And his eyes were… Red. They kind of looked like a cats."

The whole Akatsuki were silent, looking at one another as if they knew something that any of the girls didn't know. Annie started to relax a bit, even though she didn't like the fact that she was pretty much being interrogated by a group of criminals.

"Maybe you're a banshee or something…" Zana suggested, shrugging.

Annie played with her hair, sighing at Zana's remark. "Do you even know what a Banshee is? They're harbingers of death… Meaning, they scream when someone is about to die. I, for a fact, am not a harbinger of death… At least, I hope not."

"Have you had visions of anyone dying?" Pain asked.

"The only visions of someone dying, were of you... But other than that, I've had no other visions of people dying." Annie shook her head, feeling sick at the idea of seeing someone die. She remembered the vision she had earlier that day and shuddered. "Isn't there some kind of Jutsu that helps with this?"

"No, because like we've said before… We've never seen or heard of anything like this," Konan explained. "All Shinobi's abilities are unique, but this is beyond that. No one has seen or heard of anything like this before."

Hidan, who had been surprisingly quiet, stood up and snatched the sketchbook out of Annie's hands. She yelled at him, trying to get it back, but smacked her across the head with it.

"Just calm the fuck down for a second, holy shit," Hidan growled. "Because I don't know whether you assholes of thought of this yet or not… But you've all seen these drawings of hers haven't you? I would like to know why there's multiple drawings of Itachi and that strange ass tree, I mean, surely you would know it was a fucking vision if you were having multiple ones, am I right?"

"Holy shit, calm down dude!" Zana yelled, Hidan cursed at her and then Kakuzu yelled at Hidan to shut up. Soon enough, everyone one in the room erupted into yelling or arguing with each other. Sam and Annie sat still, trying to pick up what any of them was yelling about.

"So… What are we making for dinner?" Sam asked, trying her best to ignore Hidan and Zana who were currently screaming at eachother. She winced when Hidan picked a chair up over his head, about to throw it at Zana, but he was stopped by Kakuzu.

Annie sighed, slumping down in her chair. "I want pizza… Let's just order some fucking pizza."


	7. The Sacrifice

Chapter 6: The Sacrifice

"You probably shouldn't drink anymore coffee… Unless you don't want to sleep tonight."

Annie shot a look at Sam, rolling her eyes as she poured coffee into her big red 'Keep calm and carry on' mug. Ironically, the quote on her mug was not helping her in her current situation, but the four cups of coffee were helping her stay awake. Her hand was jittery as she poured her now fifth cup, putting her favourite french vanilla creamer in it as well. "Fuck it. At this point, I might as well be putting Bailey's in my coffee."

"I like to think that things could be much, much worse…" Sam explained, leaning back on the kitchen counter. "One of us are all of us could be dead… Not saying that I want that to happen or anything."

"I can fucking change that," Hidan yelled from the living room. Annie forgot that the Akatsuki, or Ninja's in general seemed to have excellent hearing. Admittedly, it would be nice if they weren't constantly trying to hear her conversations with Sam and Zana.

"I think you just jinxed us," Annie groaned, taking a swig of her coffee, not caring that it was cold."We're going to die now."

"We can't die, I mean we're only 17… I would at least like to go to College," Zana explained.

Annie shook her head."Sorry, I can't tell you whether you die or not… If I haven't had a vision of you dying, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that means you won't die."

"Well… I'm no trying to make you feel bad, but I'm glad I'm not the one who has powers to see the future." Zana said quietly, taking a piece of pepperoni pizza out of one of the many boxes. Considering the amount of people that were now in the house, Annie had to order a ridiculous amount of pizzas; most of the boxes being empty now, Ninjas seemed to eat a lot of food. Or it was the fact that most of the Akatsuki were men, and men in general seemed to eat more food.

"Oh don't you dare sympathize for me," Annie sighed. "I'm not like Alice from Twilight… I can't just make these visions come to my mind magically."

Sam looked thoughtful. "But did she even have control over them? I thought that they just came spontaneously… I mean, I think a power like that is not controllable… But maybe you could control it."

"Try explaining that to these freaks…" Zana groaned just as Hidan, looking quite dour stalked into the kitchen. The silver haired Zealot shot them an even dirtier look, mumbling something under his breath. Itachi and Kisame walked in as well, not seeming to be interested in the conversation that the three girls were having. Annie quickly glanced at Itachi, then stared at the bottom of her now empty coffee cup.

"What the fuck are you talking about now?" Hidan asked, taking a seat by Annie, who slowly moved away from him, not comfortable sitting by him. He only grinned at her, seeming to sense that she felt uncomfortable with him sitting close to her.

"Stuff and things..." Annie said, dryly. "Wow! Sorry, that was too much information."

"No, your 'Stuff and things' was just the right information we needed," Kisame snorted. "Infact, it was so helpful."

"Thanks, we'll put that on her grave," Zana snipped. "Annie Cordelia Harker 1994-2011; Accomplished many stuff and things in her life."

"Cordelia?" Hidan raised his eyebrows. "Is that your middle name?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Annie mumbled. "Cordelia was my Grandmother's name, it means 'of the sea'..."

"... Fucking lame."

Annie just rolled her eyes, staring blankly out the window. It was a beautiful night, the black sky sprinkled with silver stars. Otis was lying on the grass by the pool, playing with one of his dog toys. Deidara had seemed to be playing with the dog for a while but had eventually grew bored, making small clay figurines and exploding them. Even that though did not entertain him, for he scowled and walked back inside the house.

"Hey bitch, are you alive?"

Annie whipped her head around facing Hidan, he quirked an eyebrow as she slammed back the rest of her coffee. "Sorry… I need more coffee. I can't seem to function without it."

"Alright then..." He rolled his eyes.

'_I am dead…' _Annie thought, running a hand through her now messy hair. _'I am so fucking dead. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up… No I'm not going to even wake up, I'll be lying in a pool of my own blood. I'll be dead, maybe they'll torture me to death..."_

"It's not everyday that you have a group of psychopaths living in your house… Who are somehow, from another world," Annie said sharply. "God knows how that happens…"

"Funny, I was thinking how funny it is that we somehow ended up in this fucking world, and an 'innocent girl' has the fucking clues to how we got here!" Hidan growled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kisame nod his head in agreement.

Zana rolled her eyes. "You people literally have no patience… So Annie, when do you work next?"

"Uh… Tomorrow," Annie said. She had worked at the local _Value Village_ "Not till 5:00 PM."

Zana had obviously been changing the subject and acted casual "Evening shifts again… Do you think that they'll be giving you more day shifts since it's Summer now?"

"I don't know." Annie bit her lip, she quickly glanced at Kisame and Itachi, who were standing a few feet away. Hidan had left, obviously not interested in their conversation. "The plus side is that I don't have to wake up early for my shifts."

"Hey guys!" Sam walked into the kitchen, holding her laptop. "Uh… Hi, Kisame and Itachi…"

Zana raised her eyebrow."Why are you all excited Sam?"

"Well… I don't know if you guys forgot our plans to travel Europe after grad? I've been doing some researches on places to go…"

"I don't think this is really the right time to do that," Annie explained, biting her lip. "I mean, I'd love to tell you about how we should go to Venice and Paris... But, we have other things to worry about."

Sam seemed taken a back. "Well, I just thought it would help to get our minds off things."

"Hm, that's true," Zana shrugged and Annie nodded in agreement. "We can't exactly put this off considering we'll probably be going next year after we graduate."

Kisame who was talking to Itachi, looked at them. "Venice and Paris?"

"They are places in Europe. Venice is in Italy and Paris is the capital of France," Annie explained, reminiscing of the time she visited both cities. Back in 2009, she went to Europe with Girl Guides, since then, she had always yearned to go back to Europe. "Europe... Has much richer history than Canada and the USA in my opinion... There's also many beautiful historic sites, churches, art galleries and great food. I can't explain, it's something you have to see for yourself. Especially Versailles Palace... It's a magical place."

"Yeah, okay." Kisame muttered, looking at Annie weirdly. She blushed, not meaning to babble on about something he was clearly not interested in. Him and Itachi left the room, leaving Annie, Sam and Zana alone in the kitchen.

"Hey, uh… I need to talk to you about something…" Annie said casually, pushing her coffee cup to the side. _'Well, I don't think I should tell you something that I shouldn't even really know...'_

Sam looked around and then back at Annie "About what?"

Zana sighed, putting her pizza down on her plate."If it's what I think it is… Then maybe we should go outside and talk about this."

* * *

They walked on the same trail they had the day they found Itachi in the forest, Annie used her cellphone as a light to guide them down the damp, dirt path. Zana looked around, not speaking, afraid that maybe one of the Akatsuki members was following them. Annie told her not to worry, but all three of them still walked tensely, afraid something might happen. It was eerily calm and quiet out here in the forest, especially at night, it was both comforting and strange. For a moment, Annie felt a prickle of fear, an unnerving sense that maybe they _were_ being followed. But she shrugged the thought away, stopping in the middle of the path.

"I hate this," Zana complained, looking behind her. "Constantly being afraid that something will happen to us… I'm surprised we aren't dead yet."

Annie bit her lip. "They won't kill us, unless we willingly help them."

"Is this about the plan you were talking about earlier today?" Sam asked.

"Yes..."

"Alright," Zana groaned, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Whatever, let's just do it. Ask them to train us to be Ninjas in exchange for our... Your help."

Annie turned to her, putting a hand on her shoulder."Honestly this might be our best choice... Or our best chance at surviving. I can't think of any other solution. They want to keep me alive because I have the power to see the future... But for you two, they might kill you. I can't let that happen."

"Then how do we go about doing this?" Zana asked.

"I could tell Pain that we won't help them unless they teach us Ninjutsu..." Annie explained. "And if they want my help, they have to keep you two alive. I don't want to be their tool that they can just dispose of. We have to be prepared for the worse, that means being ready for a battle or for any other Shinobi that might come and try to hunt us down..."

Sam frowned "I don't think they will agree to do that… They're not the types to help us become shinobi. Asking S-ranked criminals to train us is probably a death wish."

"It might work or it might not… But it's worth giving a try." Annie said, crossing her arms. "Like I said before, I'm not gonna be some kind of tool or puppet that they can use."

"Then count me in," Zana snorted. "We can prove how strong we can be, right?"

Sam hesitated, looking at both of them. "We might die… But if you both are going to do it, then I will too. I guess we're all in this together."

"Sounds-" Zana froze, her head snapped to back and forth, looking for something."What was that?"

"What happened?" Sam murmured, looking around as well, even though it was hard to see in the dark.

"I heard something from over there," Zana pointed, Annie observed where she was looking but saw nothing unusual. "I'm going to check it out, come on."

"Really? It was probably just a bird," Annie yelled, but Sam and Zana were already gone. She sighed, looking at her cellphone, it was almost 9:00 PM but it had felt much later considering how much had happened that day. For a moment, she tried to figure out how she would tell her parents about all that had been happening. How do you explain that you can see the future, that there are people from a different world living in your house? She didn't know how to explain to them what was happening over the phone, but she couldn't wait till they came home either.

Sighing in frustration, she turned around but nearly screamed in complete shock. Hidan was leaning against a tree, smirking as Annie glared at him. She had never heard him approach them, did he hear her whole conversation with Zana and Sam? Maybe he was sent out here to eavesdrop on them, she thought.

"Hidan…" She snapped, shaking her head."What are you _doing?!"_

"What?" He asked, trying to look innocent. "Just because I'm here doesn't mean I won't do any bad shit. So relax."

"Um… Okay…" She said, not really believing what he said. At first hesitating, she took a few steps backwards, trying to further the distance between them. "How long have you been standing there anyways?"

"Only for a few minutes. That's the one thing you should know about us, because we're Shinobi, it's easy to sneak up on you."

Annie started feeling more uncomfortable, walking back a few more steps. "It must be. It means it must be easy to… Take out someone."

Hidan was staring at her, Annie didn't know if she should get out of there as she could, who knows how dangerous he was. She smiled stiffly,now standing still but Hidan continued talking, as if they were long time friends. "Not all the time, many other ninjas are strong… They're a pain in the ass to kill sometimes. Like those fucking Jinchuriki."

"Well, Animals are the same I guess…" Annie said, trying to steer their conversation in a different direction. Frankly, she was not interested in hearing how many people Hidan killed and how exactly he killed them. "Me and my dad hunt sometimes, it can take a while, trying to get the perfect shot… Then sometimes they run away and that… Sucks."

"I'm not fucking talking about animals." Hidan snarled. His magenta eyes flashed with anger, which stood out against his pale skin and silver hair, which glinted under the moonlight. In other circumstances, Annie would have thought he was strangely beautiful, but now, he looked like a hungry predator and she was his prey.

Annie twitched, attempting to walk away but Hidan had stepped towards her, he moved closer until she was almost against a tree. "Well, I've only ever killed animals… And we don't slaughter them because they're living beings too."

"Oh I know," Hidan chuckled, a low and dark chuckle that sent chills down Annie's spine. "And that's what makes killing so fun, taking those annoying lives away."

* * *

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Zana screamed, flailing her arms around."What the fuck is this?"

"Zana, I hate to break this to you but screaming is not going to do anything." Sam said as calmly as they could. It was hard to stay calm even though they were now hanging upside down from a tree, Sam had to admit.

Zana growled, it seemed that while on their walk they had fallen into a trap and now were stuck hanging upside down in the middle of the forest. They both attempted to untie the rope at their but it was a 20 ft fall to the ground, both of them were not willing to risk falling that far down. For a moment, they wondered why anyone would set up a trap like this in the middle of the forest. The answer became quite clear to Sam though, the Akatsuki had probably set this trap up to prevent them from going far away from the house. If they did set this trap up,it meant that they were now prisoners in Annie's own house.

"So what do we do then?" Zana blurted out, clearly frustrated about their current situation. "Just hang out here quietly… Hahahaha, 'hang out' here…"

Sam rolled her eyes."I don't think this is the time for bad puns, Zana."

"Okay, well it's getting late and it's dark out… " Sam added. "So I'm hoping that the Akatsuki will notice we're missing and maybe come and look for us."

"Ah yes, I can see it now… Deidara will come flying over here on his bird thingy, he will swoop and take you into his arms and you two will fly off into the sunset together." Zana said sarcastically.

"… And Kisame will simply cut your rope, let you fall on the ground and leave." Sam stated.

"Then I will take him on a date and secretly feed him shark fin soup without knowing that it is shark fin soup." Zana giggled.

"You'd take Kisame out on a date? Will you two get married? Invite me to the wedding, in fact, I want to be one of the bridesmaids!" Sam laughed.

"NO WAY!" Zana screamed."There's no way in hell, or in a million years that I would even think about dating that ugly shark fucker, Jesus Christ, that's disgusting!"

They both laughed then fell silent, realizing that as time passed, it seemed to get darker and still no one had shown up see if they were okay.

"We're fucked…"

* * *

Annie had said no one could go into her room, not without her permission at least. But that didn't stop Itachi from going in to see what else she may have been hiding. He closed the door of her room, taking it all in. The walls were blue, covered with pictures and posters, her bed was not made with some clothes strewn on the floor. An extra mattress was on the floor beside her bed, with more clothes strewn on it. He sat on the bed, looking at what was on her nightstand, a photo of her and her parents in some tropical location, a small brass elephant statue wearing some embroidered clothing, a camera, hair elastics and a few candles. He picked up the framed photo, Annie had red hair in the picture, she had said that her natural hair color was red; it made her green eyes seem more vibrant. He shook his head, putting the picture back on the nightstand.

He opened the drawer to the nightstand; there were some pens, pencils and many other random things. There was nothing of interest so far, closing the drawer, he looked on the bottom shelf of the nightstand. There were mostly books on the bottom shelf; he spotted a taupe notebook that said 'notebook' on it in hand written gold embossing.

For a moment he hesitated, but he flipped the journal open and started to read.

* * *

Annie wanted so desperately to run away, but now she couldn't. Hidan was only a few feet away from her, staring at her like she was his prey. She had an idea of what he was capable of doing, thanks to her visions. But now she was stuck here, not able to get away from him and she wanted to scream.

"Look… I think that I should go find Zana and Sam and then head back home…" Annie explained, nervoulsy. "I'm feeling quite tired."

"Nah, I think we have time." Hidan smirked, he stepped closer till she was leaning against the tree. Now he was only a few inches away from her, staring down at her. "Besides I want to show you something…"

His eyes bore into here and she looked away. She put her hand on his chest in an effort to get him to back off, but he stood still. "Get away from me Hidan."

"You fucking bitch." Hidan snarled. "No wonder Jashin told me to sacrifice you, you're so fucking pathetic."

"Back off!" She attempted to hit him but he grabbed her wrist and held her back against the tree. He gripped her wrist harder and she cried out in pain, he was strong and ruthless. Something sharp pressed against her throat, a black stake. He traced it down her throat, down her chest to her stomach.

"If you try to fight back, then I will make this more painful then you could ever fucking imagine," Hidan leaned in closer to her, whispering in her ear. His warm breath tickled her skin, making her shudder. "Now don't even dare underestimate what I will do to you. I will tear you apart slowly, starting by ripping your tongue out..."

"Why?" Annie whimpered. _'No… Don't be afraid… Everything's going to be okay.'_

"Because me and my God hate peaceful people," Hidan said, as if the answer was obvious and her question was stupid. "Which is why you will be my sacrifice."

Annie froze, attempting to escape, but it was useless. His body was pressed against hers, pinning her against the tree. "You can't kill me… Get away from me, get the fuck away from me!"

Hidan grabbed her by her throat and slammed her body against the tree, taking the stake and slicing her cheek. Then he let her go, stepping away from her, laughing. Annie shivered as he licked the the blood off the tip of the stake. Horrified, she screamed as he took the stake and sliced the palm of his hand with, letting the blood drip on the ground.

"HIDAN!"

He shouted a stream of curse words and turned around. "Fuck… They just had to come and ruin everything…"

This was her chance, yelling, Annie charged at him reaching for the stake. But he was much faster, he grabbed her and slammed her on the ground, kicking her in the face. She tried to get up but he only hit her again, if a normal a person had hit her maybe it wouldn't have hurt so much. But Hidan was strong and fast, she couldn't imagine how much stronger Kisame or Kakuzu was.

She tried to run away but he had grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her, holding the stake against her heart. She tried not to scream. "Please don't do this…"

"Fuck you, I-" He yelled as something or something charged at him with lightening speed, knocking him away from Annie, who fell to the ground. It was Itachi, he had a katana pierced right through Hidan's heart. For a moment, he looked shocked but then laughed maniacally.

"Oh... My... God..." Were the only words that her mouth could currently form. Seeing her shocked and horrified expression, Hidan grinned gleefully.

"I'm immortal bitch!" Hidan yelled as a matter of factly, Itachi pulled the Katana out of him, earning him a look of pure hatred from Hidan. He looked at Annie now, who only stared back at him, blankly. Suddenly, all she could think of was the times her Mom made her go to Church, in Sunday school, they would make memorize certain verses from the bible, much to her disliking. Psalms, 1st John, Corinthians, Song Of Songs... But it was one from the book the Proverbs that had always stuck with her. _'The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteousness will stand.' _\- Proverbs 12:7. Why was she thinking of the bible and church? Maybe it was because Hidan was a Religious zealot and Annie had never believed in God or the Devil.

But he was really immortal and she was almost a sacrifice to Jashin, his God.

"Fuck you Itachi," He snapped. "You disrupted my ritual! This was no ordinary ritual as well, she was an important sacrifice!"

Itachi ignored him, as if Hidan had always swore at him like this all the time. He looked at Annie. "Annie..."

Ignoring the agonizing pain in her body, Annie forced herself up from the ground. Without looking back, she ran away as fast as she could, not wanting to go back home.

* * *

"I spy with my little eye… A bird!"

"And I spy with my little eye… No more fucks to give," Zana grumbled, she had started to feel dizzy, considering they had been hanging upside for longer than she wanted to. It was now dark, and still no one had come to save them. "We were supposed to watch a movie tonight… You know, have a chill night? BUT INSTEAD WE'RE HANGING FROM A FUCKING TREE, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"

"Look on the bright side," Sam said, she was trying to be positive, but even she was starting to sound discouraged. "This… Is good bonding time. I mean it could be worse…"

Zana groaned. "Give me an example of how it could be worse."

"Well… We could be hostages, or being interrogated by ninjas from other countries. There's a thousand different possible situations that could be worse. I mean we could, be dead, dying or tortured to death."

"Okay, I get it. You're right Sam. It could be worse." She sighed, wondering how much longer they would be here. Maybe another hour or so, maybe even a few more hours longer than that, maybe even a day. Maybe the Akatsuki, wouldn't rescue them, because why rescue some useless, teenage girls? Would Itachi save them? Probably, because he seemed the most tolerable of them all. Would Kisame save them? Fuck no, because he literally did not give a shit about any of them. As for the rest of the Akatsuki, there was no chance they would save them. All hope was lost, for now at least.

"The worst that could also happen is that Zetsu would eat us." Sam explained, calmly.

"Wait…" Zana froze. "What if this a trap set up by Zetsu… And eventually he'll come here and eat us?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that this is how Zetsu eats his… Prey."

Zana Started to panic. "But what if it really is? What if he's here now? Maybe he's hiding in one of these trees just waiting to eat us?"

"Or maybe he's saying grace before he eats us." Sam said. "You never know, maybe he likes to give thanks before eating anyone."

"You're not helping… CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET US OUT OF THESE FUCKING TREES?"

Sam only shook her head, muttering something under her breath. There was snapping sound and then suddenly she was falling. Zana screamed in exasperation, then she was falling as well."WHAT THE HELL?"

She shrieked loudly, thinking she might die. But Instead of hitting the ground, she fell into someone's arms. Someone came to save them! Someone heard her cry for help and came to save them! She opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had them closed, Kisame looked back her with an annoyed expression.

"Did you really have to scream like a 5 year old girl?" He growled, letting go of her. Well, he didn't really let her down, he dropped her on ground instead as if she was just a bag of garbage. She gawked, taken aback by his rudeness, Deidara was there too, he must have saved Sam who stood awkwardly by him but also seemed relieved.

"Well, thanks for saving us." Zana muttered, standing up and brushing dirt off her clothes.

Kisame only shrugged, walking away from them. Zana and Sam followed, along with Deidara who also looked quiet annoyed about having to save two 17 year old teenage girls.

_'He's such an asshole,' _Zana thought bitterly of Kisame. _'I would rather have been saved by Itachi than him...'_

* * *

Annie bolted through the woods, too afraid to head home. Maybe she could run away, but she might not be able to escape the Akatsuki. They would find her, maybe they would kill her. No, they wouldn't because they needed her powers. Which made her wonder, how did she gain such an ability? Out of all the people in the world, why would an average, teenage girl gain the power to see the future? But most of all, why her?

It was dark out, but she didn't care. Not knowing where she was, she stopped and sat down against a tree, the trunk rough against her back. Her heart was still beating so fast, like a drum, anxiety had taken over her body, making her more nervous. Breathing heavily, she tried to calm down. _'Stop'_ she told herself _'You're stronger than this, you can make it through this. Everything's going to be alright.'_

But it wouldn't be alright, deep down, she knew it wasn't going end good. She had a feeling from the start, even before this all happened, she knew… She had a feeling that something bad would happen.

_'I will not be the Akatsuki's tool,_' She thought, taking a deep breath. If only she could be more brave, if only she could be more strong. But she couldn't find the strength or the courage to tell them the whole truth about her visions. _'But why does this have to happen to me? Who am I?'_

A few minutes passed as she sat there, deep in thought. She snapped out of her thoughts though, she sensed someone standing near her.

"Annie."

Itachi was like a ghost sometimes, she swore. He seemed to like sneaking up on her, and he wasn't talkative, nor that approachable. He just stood there looking at her, as if he knew something about her that she didn't know, or like she was hiding something. Annie wasn't sure how to feel about him, she _knew _what terrible things he had done. Maybe he was no different from Hidan, Kisame and the rest of the Akatsuki in general. They were all terrible people and she did not want to be associated with the likes of them, the thought made her even more miserable.

She didn't mean to sound angry, but she couldn't help it as she spoke her words sharply. "What do you want?"

"Shouldn't you go home?" He asked.

"That's funny, the thought of going into my own house scares me." Annie laughed, a sarcastic laugh. "So where do I go now?"

He didn't say anything, just seemed to look off in the distance. Annie wondered why he was so quiet, so emotionless. She knew there must have been something about him, something that was different from the rest of the Akatsuki.

He finally spoke again."We'll make sure that Hidan won't hurt you again."

"No!" Annie snapped. "I don't want someone to protect me, I want to be able to protect myself. God, I hate having people try to protect me, I'm not weak! At least I like to think I'm not weak, it's just stupid how people think that I can't protect myself. First, my dad is over protective of me and now people think that they come and tell me that they will protect me. Seriously, I hate having to depend on other people to do crap for me, I'll just do it my damn self! And one of your own tried to kill me and now you're telling me that you'll protect me?!"

Annie was standing now, she sighed in frustration, running her hands through her hair. She looked at Itachi who stared at her, expressionless. "Sorry…" She muttered. "I didn't mean to snap at you… I just… Just what you said, you're not the first one who's said… It just makes me mad when people say that-"

"ANNIE!"

Out of the woods, Zana bolted towards her, hugging her so tight she had to gasp for air. Sam seemed morecalm, casually walking up to her and not frantically hugging her like Zana did. But she had a worried expression on her face, looking from Itachi and then her. Annie realized that her face must have been badly bruised from where Hidan had hit her. Great, now how was she going to explain the bruises and the cut on her cheek to her mom?

"Thank God, you're alright! It was awful, we walked into some kind of trap and were hanging upside down in a tree forever! We were afraid that it was a trap set up by Zetsu, so that he could eat us!" Zana talked so fast that Annie could barely make out what she was saying. Then she stopped and looked at Annie, her mouth agape. "Oh... Annie, what happened?"

"God, she is probably the most dramatic girl I've ever met," Kisame sighed, looking at Annie with a quizzical expression. Deidara stood a distance away, acting as if this situation, what happened to Annie, was normal. "I should have just knocked you out back there so that you could shut up."

"Hidan just tried to kill me..." Annie choked, her body feeling cold. "He was about to sacrifice me to his God... He threatened to tear me apart and he was about to... I... Am so scared."

Sam's eyes widened. "Oh no... Annie, you're shaking really badly... Did Itachi save you?"

"Well, we should have warned you that he wouldn't listen to your rules, hm," Deidara shrugged. "Sorry... About that..."

Kisame cut him off, glaring at him. "Shut up. Hidan should have listened. Annie, we'll deal with him and make sure he won't do anything again. Hidan is a psycho, Kakuzu should be the one babysitting him."

"Coming from the guy who was wanting to kill us," Zana muttered, but Kisame heard her and shot her a dangerous look, shutting her up.

"We should go back," Sam announced, turning towards Annie. The others turned away and made their back to the house, but Annie only stood there, still too afraid to move. Gently, Sam grabbed her hand and lead her back home.

* * *

When they got back to the house, the rest of the Akatsuki were in the living room watching _X-men. _Thankfully, Hidan was not present but Pain locked eyes with Annie, pausing the movie, he stood up. "I've already heard about what happened, are you alright?"

"Not really," Annie said, surprised to hear Pain asking her if she was alright. He was emotionless like a robot sometimes, so he didn't seem the type to ask about your well being. "Um... I'm gonna go to my room... Have a good night."

"Are you sure you're okay, Annie?" Sam asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah… I'm fine," said Annie. "I'm going to have a shower... Then go to bed, I'm feeling exhausted."

Something started to feel different, it all felt off, to Annie at least. She quickly made her way to her room, but before she opened the door to it, she froze. She didn't know why she did, but it seemed like everything was setting her off, making her more anxious. She quickly opened the door and slammed it close, scanning the room, she sighed in relief seeing that no one was in here.

She took her time showering, washing the blood off her face. She noticed that a bruise formed around her the wrist, the one that Hidan had grabbed. She shuddered at the memory of him about to sacrifice her, hoping it wouldn't happen again.

After her shower, she lied on her bed for awhile reading _City Of Fallen Angels_. Her eyelids began to feel heavy though, putting the book down, she went to sleep.

_It was a dream, it had to be._

_She was in Crown Isle, a fancy resort in the Comox Valley. She was wearing a dusty rose, flowy, strapless gown, encrusted with silver jewels at the waist. Her hair was it's natural color red, and it was curled, some of it pinned back with jeweled hair pins. On her wrist was a corsage of white roses, she looked around realizing… This was her Grad after party, everyone was dancing, slowly. Couples were dancing along to a slow song she could not recognize, and she was standing there alone, with no one to dance with._

_Someone touched her shoulder gently, when she turned around she was surprised. It was Itachi, he was wearing a nice suit with a grey tie, he certainly didn't look like a criminal but a normal person like everyone else. Almost every girl in the room would steal a glance at him, giggling or goggling over him. He was handsome but tonight he looked especially handsome, Annie couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy when the other girls stared at him._

"_What?" He asked, looking around, not seeming to notice the young girls staring at him._

"_All the girls are looking you… I mean, they're eying you up." She explained, laughing._

_He was silent for a second, looking at her. "And what makes you think that?"_

"_Because it's so obvious," She said, feeling her face start to flush. "I mean… Not just girls, but people make it obvious that they're checking you out. The way that they just look at you and then giggle or whisper in another person's ear. They're definitely not discreet."_

"_Well, people are looking at you as well, Annie." Said Itachi._

_Annie rolled her eyes. "I doubt it… Or maybe I haven't noticed."_

"_You haven't noticed, because you were too busy noticing the other people look at me," He explained, for a moment Annie felt embarrassed but kept listening. "You do that a lot actually, from what I see. You always appreciate what someone has to say about someone else, but you don't notice how people see you or what they think of you, the good things I mean. And you do it to yourself, you're always pointing out the bad things about yourself but not the good, you always put yourself down. Everyone has flaws Annie, you and me especially but we must also accept that we are also good. And you have that, many good things about you."_

_For a moment, she felt her stomach twist. Not in a bad way, but in a good way… Butterflies, was that it? It couldn't be. "Okay then, what are those good things about me?"_

"_You're smart, you're brave and courageous. You don't let anyone else define who you are, you're a good observer and a fast learner. You care about your friends and family a lot, more than anything. You're compassionate and kind, even if you deny it. You always try to understand people before judging them… And most of all, you're humble and you follow your heart."_

"_Goddammit…" She felt herself blushing. "You almost sound like my Dad, Itachi."_

"_It's not a bad thing." He said softly, he held out his hand to her. "Should… We dance?"_

_Annie nodded, taking his hand, he put one hand her waist, she put her other hand on his shoulder. The feeling of being this close to Itachi was almost intense, she swore he could hear her heart beat but he said nothing, only looked at her as they danced. She looked away from him, feeling shy._

"_By the way… Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?"_

"_Yes you have." Annie said, she smiled and Itachi smiled too._


	8. A Turn Of Events

Chapter 7: A Turn of Events

_July 1__st__ 2011_

_The past few days have been a nightmare. I keep hoping that I will wake up but I don't, this is all real. I keep telling myself 'Wake up, wake up,' but it does nothing. I can't accept what is happening and maybe I never will._

_The Akatsuki... They are terrible, maybe not Itachi but they are terrible. Last night, Hidan tried to kill me, as a sacrifice to his God 'Jashin'. He said it was an important sacrifice, I don't really know why I would be such an important sacrifice. Itachi saved my life again, he saved me from drowning the first time and then he saved me from being killed by a religious psychopath._

_Today is Canada day, not that it matters or that I really care. But tomorrow I work, people are probably going to ask me how I cut my cheek and got these bruises, I'll have to come up with a creative lie for those. Mom will probably be super worried if she sees them over skype, hopefully she'll believe that I got them in some kind of accident... Anyways, it's almost 8:00 AM, which means I have to go eat breakfast... Which means I have to face the Akatsuki. Hopefully today goes well..._

Annie sighed, craving a hot cup of coffee. She put her notebook in the cupboard of her nightstand, reminding herself that she'll hide it in another place or take it with her today. She suspected that the Akatsuki has been snooping around her room, even though she told them not to go in her room. But they were criminals, of course they were not going to listen to a 17 year old girl. Her body hurt from the slight beating she got from Hidan the other day, a bruise had already started to form on her forehead and the one on her wrist was an ugly deep purple and blue color. If she could get a bruise like that from a Ninja just gripping her wrist hard enough, she couldn't imagine how deadly and powerful they were when fighting.

Sam laid on her inflatable mattress, playing a game on her _PSP. _She turned it off, yawning and looking up at Annie. "Should I wake up Zana?"

"Yeah, unless she wants to miss the parade and stay home with these freaks," Annie snorted. Zana was still fast asleep, lightly snoring. Sam lightly shook her, but there was no response from Zana, who slept like a rock. "God Sam, you think that's gonna wake her up? Zana can sleep through the damn apocalypse."

"But I don't want to do anything too loud because what if we wake the Akatsuki up and they get pissed off-"

"Who cares what they think? That's what they get for staying in my house," Annie grinned, she got her iPhone and put it into her _Bose _sound system. Turning up the volume, she started to play _Carey _By _Joni Mitchell._

_The wind is in from Africa_

_Last night I couldn't sleep_

_Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here Carey_

_But it's really not my home_

_My fingernails are filthy, I got beach tar on my feet_

_And I miss my clean white linen and my fancy French cologne_

Zana bolted up, yelling at the top of her lungs. "OH GOD TURN IT OFF! WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE JONI MITCHELL OUT OF ALL PEOPLE?!"

"Because apparently, a woman singing like a banshee is the only thing that will wake you up," Annie explained, turning off the music quickly. She hated Joni Mitchell just as much as Zana did, though her Mom seemed to love her music. "Hopefully the Akatsuki won't be pissed that I blasted Joni Mitchell."

"I don't know, maybe they're already all awake. But never play Joni Mitchell again." Said Sam.

Annie giggled, getting off the bed to get ready. Since it was Canada day it was more than appropriate to wear Canada shirts, she wore a red shirt with the Canada flag shaped as the 'Rock on' hand sign. Once she was ready, she begrudgingly headed down to the kitchen with Zana and Sam, afraid of what the Akatsuki had in store for her today. When she walked into the dining room, she was slightly surprised to see that they had made their own breakfast, a few of them sitting around the table and eating it. They all looked at her as walked in, like they always seemed to do, it was one of the things that Annie would have to get used to.

"You're up early, un," Deidara pointed out, taking a bite out of some bacon. He sat by Sasori who didn't say anything, only glanced at Annie. To her disappointment, Kakuzu and Hidan sat at the table as well, bickering over something, which they seemed to do often. Annie froze at seeing Hidan, quickly looking away from him. Kakuzu didn't seem to be as terrible as Hidan but he was not all that pleasant to be around, he also had a bad temper as well apparently, so Annie decided it was best to avoid him as well.

"You better not have eaten the rest of the bacon," Said Annie, crossing her arms.

Kakuzu looked up at her. "Actually, Hidan ate most of it."

"Oh man, as if sacrificing me wasn't bad enough," Annie said sarcastically, rolling her eyes for dramatic effect. "Now he eats all the bacon, _now _I definitely hate him!"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Hidan snapped back. "You fucking-"

"OH SHUT UP HIDAN!" Zana screeched, storming into the dining room from the kitchen. "Seriously, you all need to leave Annie alone, me and Sam as well. No more bickering at her, okay?"

Hidan was about to say something, put Kakuzu hit him to shut him up. Annie gritted her teeth, already starting to feel frustrated. "Thank you, Zana."

"No problem... Also, there's a message on the answering machine."

_'It must be from Dad... Or maybe even from work...' _She thought, making her way into the kitchen. No one was in here, but there were a few dirty dishes left on the counters and the marble island. Surely, if the Akatsuki could make themselves breakfast they could _at least _clean up after themselves! Maybe she would make them do dishes, along with cleaning around the house for a bit. She tried to imagine Deidara scrubbing the floor like Cinderella and chuckled to herself. Maybe they wouldn't have scrub the kitchen floor, but they could at least vacuum the house or do the dishes.

The number 1 blinked on the screen of the answering machine, she pressed the button, listening to the message.

"_You have one new message, Tuesday, 10:17 PM…"_

"_Annie this is your Dad calling… I know it's late but I want you to call me back as soon as possible, doesn't matter if it's 12:00 AM or 1:00 AM, please call me back… I don't really have time to explain but be safe please. Tom will be there as soon as he can to explain if you can't reach me. I'll hopefully talk to you soon… I love you."_

She had been leaning against the kitchen counter but stood up straight once the message stopped playing. Emotions of worry and sickness stirred inside her, wondering and hoping that her Dad was alright. He had sounded... Worried, but also like he was in pain. She knew well that being a cop was a dangerous job and had often worried about her Dad. But he was in Nova Scotia, training _ERT_ recruits, surely it wasn't that dangerous. At the moment, she groaned... She had not even looked at her cellphone to see if anyone had called her or texted her.

"Annie, is everything alright?" Annie jumped, turning around. Sam stood there, looking at her with a curious expression.

"Um, I don't know," Annie said worriedly. "There was a message from my Dad, I think something happened... I'm going to try to call him though."

She dialed his cellphone number and held the phone to her ear, waiting as the phone rang. No answer, she tried one more time but there was still no answer. Now she wasn't just worried, she was afraid, terrified. What if something bad _did_ happen to her father? _'Dad...' _She bit her lip, trying not to cry. _'Please be alright Dad, I can't lose you. Especially not now...'_

Sam walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Annie, Don't worry too much. Just wait for maybe an hour or so, maybe he'll call back then, or later in the day."

Even though anxiety had seem to taken her over again, that she feared for her fathers life, Annie nodded, choosing to wait for a phone call. She was looking for her cellphone when she spotted it on the table in the corner, walking over to it, she picked it up and turned it on. _18 missed calls _was the first thing that flashed before her eyes on the phone screen. She felt more sick than before, 18 missed calls and they were all from her Dad or from his friend Tom.

They decided to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Zana insisted that they make them, considering they wouldn't have to make some for the Akatsuki as well. They made breakfast in a comfortable silence, occasionally talking about Grade 12 and their plans for after high school. As much as Annie wanted to talk about Graduation, she decided to watch the news. She wasn't overly fond of watching the news... It all seemed to be the same thing every day; something tragic happens in the world, someone dies and some boring segments on politics. She disliked politics.

She walked into the living room, sitting on the couch beside Deidara, but not sitting too close to him. Kisame and Itachi sat on the opposite couch, watching the T.V. with bored expressions. The reporter was currently talking about something to do with the legalization of Marijuana, something else that Annie also didn't care for.

She ate her pancakes, bored of the news already. But as the next report came on, the Reporter with a very serious expression on her face, Annie thought she would be sick.

"_What can only be described as a horrific and tragic accident, occurred yesterday in Nova Scotia, on Highway 118. RCMP officers and ERT recruits were heading into Halifax at around 7:00 P.M yesterday when one crash caused a chain reaction on the highway..._

Beside the thin lipped reporter, it showed a video of the crash. But as the images flashed one after another, Annie had a feeling that this may not have been an accident. A few vehicles were wrecked and burning, among them was a black SUV, a few RCMP cars and and RCMP truck. A semi-truck was tipped over on it's side, still on fire a few feet away from the other cars, some had crashed onto the side of the road. There were streaks of blood on the road, which only made the sick feeling inside her worse. Now she understood why her father and his friend Tom had tried to call her last night, because he was in that accident. Of course he had survived, but not without any injuries.

Somehow, he had survived the accident. She tried not to keep her hopes up, he could have been severely injured and succumb to his injuries. No, why would she think of that? _'He's alive' _She thought _'He survived and he will be okay.' _I

"_There were about 13 ERT recruits/RCMP officers, 9 of them are dead, the other 4 survived but have serious injuries. They were on their way back from training procedures for the RCMP's ERT program... Among the fallen officers, civilians were injured or killed in the accident. Police say that about 13 have been confirmed dead so far."  
_

Images of the deceased officers flashed on the screen. Annie felt even more sick seeing it, or imagining how their family's would react to their sudden and tragic deaths. Annie's heart seemed to stop as a familiar face appeared among the deceased._'Matthew...'_ She thought, remembering her father's long time and good friend. They had become friends when they were training together at Depot, the RCMP's training academy. She remembered her father telling her stories about their days at Depot, and of their operations with ERT. Matt was also an ERT member and had lived in Alberta, she had met him a few times but the news of his death still stung.

"Ha! That's awesome, un," Deidara shouted gleefully, Annie was too absorbed in the news to notice that more of the Akatsuki members had come into the room. "There must have been explosions!"

"… My father was in that accident," Annie said numbly, at that, Deidara shut up.

"_It was crazy, man," A young man said, speaking to the reporter at the scene of the accident "Me and my girlfriend were driving past it as it happened, we're very lucky to have made it out alive…"_

_'That's what they always say,' _Annie thought bitterly. _'They don't appreciate their own lives until this happens. Until they see someone else die..."_

The doorbell rang, making Annie jump a little. She turned to the Akatsuki. "You should go somewhere else, I think my dad's friend is here."

They were gone as soon as they came, Zana and Sam stood by the doorway of the living room. "What the hell..." said Zana, shaking her head. "What is going on?"

Annie didn't reply, only rushed to the door. She paused, thinking of a million different things to say to Tom, but not one seemed right. Opening the door, she saw Tom standing there, a grim expression on his face. He was not old, but his now gray hair was cut short making the circles under his blue eyes stand out more against his pale skin. His eyes settled on Annie, his expression not changing.

"Constable Godard… I mean, Tom." She muttered. Even though her her father was an RCMP officer and the other local officers knew her well, it didn't excuse her from addressing them by 'Constable'. While she mostly called Tom by his first name, she had addressed him as Constable while at RCMP camp last Spring and while he was on duty.

"Did you get his message?" He asked worriedly, without hesitating, he stepped inside the house.

"I just got it this morning… Look, I was out last night… And I didn't even have my cellphone on me, so I wasn't even able to answer his calls… God, I only found out this morning… I just saw it on the news. How the hell could this have happened? I don't talk to him for a day and he almost get's killed… I don't understand."

He put a hand on her shoulder, an attempt to reassure her but it made no difference. She was terrified for her father's life. Soothingly, he spoke. "Shh, Annie it will be alright."

"No..." She whimpered, trying so desperately not to cry. She hated crying in front of people, even in front of people who were close to her. "He's gonna be so mad that I didn't call him back…"

"He's not mad Annie, he'll call you back again." Said Tom. "He called me last night, but he's still in the hospital."

No longer able to hold back her tears, she wiped them from her eyes, taking a deep breath. "You have to tell me everything that happened, every single detail. This is not right."

"… I… Can try, but you know fully well that I can't let you look at the reports… And the RCMP Halifax are handling the case. But there's one thing that you should know first."

"What?" She asked.

"Your father thinks that someone tried to kill him… And he thinks that whoever tried to kill him yesterday might also try to kill you next."

* * *

Documents, files, and many other papers with numbers and information that meant nothing to him… There were many of them, Pain noted. There were what seemed to be police reports as well, along with bills and more police reports. He closed the drawer of the filling cabinet, opening the next one. Each folder was a different colour and marked with a name; _Marianne, Robert… Annie_. He took Annie's folder out and started looking through it, trying to find anything unusual or interesting.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Konan asked, she was looking through a photo album, the front it said 'Family' in gold handwriting and was printed with a floral pattern.

"… Anything," He said blankly, looking through the file.

Tobi sat lazily in one of the chairs, holding a strange, colorful statue of a man with an elephant head. "Uh… I don't think that she'll like that we're going through all this stuff, Leader-sama… Didn't she say to not look through anything, unless we ask?"

"Does it look like we care?" Kisame snorted, though he was not doing anything to help. His interest seemed to be on the many books that lined the shelves, most of them were novels that they had never heard of; _The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, Pride And Prejudice, Harry Potter... _Surely, they would find no useful information from books like those.

No one else objectified to Pain's plan of searching the office for information on Annie. Not even Itachi, who simply stood by the window staring outside. Pain attempted to get onto the computer but both accounts on it need passwords to get onto them. Plus, these computers and technology were more advanced than the technology in their world. As much as he hated to admit it, they didn't really know how to use the technology here.

Kakuzu sauntered into the office, holding a small, black object in his hand. A recorder. "I found something."

* * *

"Shit… He's still not picking up his phone." Annie sighed, tossing the phone onto the couch in frustration. Throwing it at the wall was not an option, considering how expensive iPhones were. It was funny how a piece of technology could help control her temper in the current situation.

Tom looked at her, he had taken off his vest and gun belt, leaving them near the front door. He took a sip of his coffee before speaking. "Annie, I told you that you need to be patient. I know it's hard to accept what is happening right now, but you need to try your best to be calm. How about you talk to your mother?"

Annie shuddered at the thought of telling her mother what happened to her father. Not that she didn't like her mother, but how her mother would react to the news made her nervous. "Okay... Can you be there with me when I tell her? I don't want to tell her by myself..."

He nodded in understanding, following her upstairs to the office. She almost hesitated before she walking into the office, but opened the door, making her way over to the computer. Tom pulled a chair over and sat next to her as she logged into her account, opening _Skype_ and calling her mom. It said she was offline, but she had hoped that maybe by some chance, she would be online.

But she had answered, she appeared on the screen, wearing a blue and gold Salwar Kameez. Her expression upon seeing Annie was one of surprise and delight. "Annie, darling! Namaste!"

"Namaste," Annie replied, it meant Hello in Hindi. "Mom, are you busy right now?"

"No, I think I'm done my work for the day," She replied. "It's so hot over here though, how are things back home? Oh, Tom! Hello, sorry I wasn't meaning to ignore you..."

He only shrugged, Annie bit her lip. "Uh, things are going okay."

"Sweetie," She said, her expression turning serious. "Is everything alright? What happened?"

"Uh… Not really…" Annie stuttered."Mom, something happened to Dad."

She was quiet for a moment, looking away from them. "He was injured on the job wasn't he?"

There was no anger in her voice, her mom was very patient and calm and rarely got angry. But right now she seemed upset, Annie felt bad for telling her the news while she was on missionary work in India. But she couldn't wait to tell her the news.

"Yes, he was…" Tom said. "But he will be fine, his injuries weren't severe… But he will have to take a few months off work. It's a miracle he wasn't severely injured unlike the other survivors…"

From what Tom had told her, her Dad was in one of the RCMP trucks… Their car was about to collide with the semi-truck but another car had driven into them and flipped the vehicle instead. He could of had it much worse, but Annie's father miraculously made it out with a concussion, a broken arm and fractured ribs. As expected, he would need to take few months off work, he would need more time off from work not just for physical healing but mental healing as well. It was common for Police officers to have to take leave from work after a traumatizing case.

Tom explained to her Mom all the details he knew so far. "We've been trying to get a hold from him, I haven't talked to him since last night. But we're hoping that he'll call back today."

"If we get a call from him today, I'll tell him to call you," Said Annie, trying her best to sound reassuring. "I don't want you to worry, Mom. I feel so bad for having to tell you this, because you're all the way in India and you're not able to take care of him. I promise though, that when he gets back home I'll do my best to take care of him."

"That's what I needed to hear," She smiled. "I know that you love your Dad and you'll take care of him. Thank you, honey."

"We'll contact you as soon as we hear anything else… Or if anything comes up." Tom said.

"Okay, I don't know if I'll be able to answer all your calls, since I'm busy over," She explained, shifting in her seat. "But I'll try my best to."

"That's okay," Annie bit her lip, hoping that nothing else would happen.

Her Mom smiled "I'm sorry sweetie, I know this is hard for you but I'll be home at the end of August, before you start school again… Take care of him and be safe till then, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later sweetie, I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

With a wave to her Mom, she ended the call, closing _Skype_ and logging off her account. Sitting back in the chair she groaned in frustration, running a hand through her hair. "Should I have told her that my Dad thinks that someone tried to kill him and they might kill me next?"

"No," He said, rather blankly. "I think maybe your father is being... A bit paranoid about that, because so far there isn't evidence to prove that."

Annie nodded, getting up from the chair and walking back downstairs, Tom followed, telling her that he wouldn't be able to stay for too long. He said he would call her tonight to see if she got in contact with her father. Annie didn't say anything, only nodded her head, it felt like her head was spinning with all that was happening. First the Akatsuki, and now her father was almost killed, she wondered if these events were somehow linked? No, maybe they weren't, she thought, maybe she was over her head.

After he left, she went back to the living room, laying down on the couch and sighing. Zana and Sam were quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"You still want to go to the parade?" Sam asked, looking at Annie. "Maybe it can help get your mind off all this crazy crap…"

"Yeah, you're right… Maybe that will help."

* * *

Pain stepped back into the office, holding the recorder in his hand. The police officer had just left, Zana, Sam and Annie were back downstairs in the living room, watching T.V. He closed the door of the office and sat down at the desk, the other Akatsuki members had gathered around, curious as to what Kakuzu had found.

"Where did you find this, Kakuzu?" He asked, eyeing the recorder.

"In her parent's room," He replied, coolly."I haven't even listened to it, so I'm not sure what exactly is on it. But it was hidden so I'm assuming it must be something that they don't want anyone else to find."

Sasori nodded. "Perhaps if we listen, then we can find out why they were hiding it."

For a moment, Pain kept staring at the recorder, then he pressed the play button. There was no sound for moment, but then there was the sound of footsteps, a door opening and the shuffling of papers.

"_Come on in, Annie." A female voice spoke, she had a strange accent. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Fukui but you can call me Hotaru if you like."_

"_I assume my parents already told you everything… About me," Annie spoke dully, as if she didn't want to be there._

_It was silent for a moment, Dr. Fukui spoke gently."They did. But I'm sure you should understand that they are worried about your health."_

"_Tch, I'm worried about my health as well…" Annie said._

"_Hmm… Well just lie back in the seat there, I'll start asking you some questions… But first, tell me some things about yourself Annie. Anything like your interests, hobbies, dislikes and your family."_

"_Okay…" Annie sighed "My name is Annie Cordelia Harker, I was born in this city on April 23, 1994… I was almost named Cordelia because it was my Grandmother's name. My father is a police officer and my mother is a doctor. They love me… Very much, but their very protective of me for some reason… I don't think that there's anything to be afraid of in this town, but they act like there is, which is why they protect me so much, I guess. I've been taking dance classes since I was about 3, I used to like them but I don't anymore, that much anyways. I don't tell my Mom that because she used to dance as well, and she loves seeing me dance. I think I hate Ballet the most, not because it's hard but… Because you have to be elegant in ballet and I'm not good at being elegant."_

"… _Uh… As for things I like… And my hobbies, I love drawing and writing, it relaxes me… But I also enjoy playing the piano, I took lessons all my life and whenever I play... I just forget everything else and get lost in the music. Reading is one of my greatest hobbies though, I like reading fiction/literature and non-fiction books as well. I like learning… I mean, I guess most people don't really care for it… But I love learning, about math, history… Especially science, I like science documentaries. I also enjoy solving problems, I mean, that's all I can come up with for now…"_

"_That's very good," Dr. Fukui said. "Now I'm going to ask you some questions about… Your dreams. Do you feel comfortable about that Annie?"_

"_Well… Uh, it's best to talk about them… And get it all out."_

_Another moment of silence then Dr. Fukui spoke again. "Was there any certain event that triggered you to have these dreams?"_

"_No…" Annie spoke silently. Then she was quiet for a moment, as if trying to figure out what to say next. "There wasn't… I just remembered having this strange vision or dream… The first time it happened was when I was about 5 or six."_

"_Where were you when it happened?"_

"_We were on the plane to Los Angeles… My mom and Dad surprised me that day… She came to pick me up from school, she had packed all my stuff that day, then we went to the airport, she told me that we were going to Disneyland. During the flight… I started to feel strange, like something was missing… And then it happened, that vision."_

"_May I ask what happened in that vision?"_

"_I wasn't there in the vision…" Annie explained, her voice strained. "But I saw this village… Like one of those villages in Japan. I… I… Saw these two boys… They must have been brothers because they both looked almost the same, except the younger one had short black hair and the older one had longer black hair. They both had black eyes… They were walking down the street, talking… But it's like I couldn't hear what they were saying… Except I the younger one would always call the older one brother, but he would never say his name."_

Pain paused the recorder for a moment, looking around at them all. He looked for Itachi, but he was gone and so was Tobi.

* * *

It was 9:00 AM now, Annie wanted for them to leave early so that they could get something from _Tim Hortons _and to get a good spot for the parade. To her own surprise, she did not have a single cup of coffee this morning, a large coffee was in order. She walked by Itachi on her way to her room, avoiding eye contact with him, but she could feel him stare at her. It didn't help that she was more paranoid now that someone might kill her, or was watching her.

The door to her room was ajar… Weird, she swore that she had closed it this morning. Hesitantly, she opened the door and walked into her room. She almost screamed, Tobi sat on her bed looking through one of her sketch books.

"What the hell are you doing?" She gasped, but he didn't respond, he only kept looking through her notebook as if he didn't hear her. He flipped the page, staring at the picture.

She walked over to him, but he didn't look up even though she was standing right in front of him. For a moment she didn't say anything, just looked at him as he stared at the picture in her notebook. There was something strange about Tobi, she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Oh, Annie, I'm sorry!" Tobi giggled, yet Annie only looked at him strangely. What was up with him?

"Tobi, I said that no one is allowed in my room," She explained. "Except for me, Zana and Sam."

Tobi scratched his head. "S-sorry Annie-Chan, I was just curious to look at your drawings… Your art is really good by the way, I think even Sasori and Deidara would be jealous!"

"Oh… Well, that's cool," She said, forcing herself to smile. "But can you please leave Tobi… I don't mean to be rude."

"Okay."

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Annie stared at the notebook on the bed, it was open to a drawing she almost forgot about… It was of a man with long black hair, wearing red Armour, he had the Sharingan, just like Itachi. This was the picture that Tobi was staring at; surely he must have known who he was.

'_Maybe… Can I make myself see a future vision?' _She thought, sitting on the bed. All the times she had these visions, it was out of the blue. But she had never tried to summon a vision herself. Holding the sketchbook in her hands, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her hands traced the lines of the drawing on the notebook, as if they would guide her, as if they had the power to show her what she wanted.

For a moment, nothing changed. But then the darkness seemed to peel away like a dying flower, her head starting to feel light, as if she was floating...

_When she opened her eyes, she was in her living room. It was night time and none of the lights were on, she must have woken up to get something to drink. She made her way into the kitchen, but stopped when she saw a familiar figure standing there._

_It was Tobi._

"_Tobi… What the-" She gasped as she was slammed against the wall, his throat around her neck. She tried to scream but he put his hand over her mouth._

"_Shh… I think it's best that you be quiet, what do you think of that?" He said, his voice sounded different, no longer childish but serious and dark._

"_What is the meaning of this?" She asked._

"_You have a special gift Annie, something very useful for us… For me especially," He explained, his face only inches away from him. Through the hole in his mask, she saw the Sharingan."You know a lot of things, not just because of your visions but because you're a smart girl. But I think you may know too many things, and that could be dangerous, don't you think?"_

_She glared at him. No longer attempting to escape his iron grasp. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

"_Don't lie to me. You're a terrible liar."_

"_Oh boy," Annie sighed. "I guess Shinobi are better at telling whether a person is lying, right?"_

"_What do you know?" His grip around her neck tightened and she struggled to breath, she tried her best to kick him but he was much stronger than she was. "Tell me."_

"_Who are you?" She asked, gasping for air. "And why do you want to know?"_

"_It's none of your concern, tell me what you know."_

_The more she stared at him, the more she realized something… His name wasn't really Tobi, he was someone else. A person pretending to be someone he wasn't, because he didn't want anyone to find out who he really was. There was one possibility…_

"_You're Madara Uchiha, aren't you?"_

She gasped as she opened her eyes, almost falling off her bed. Her heart raced fast in her chest, her head now felt dizzy. _'No way, no fucking way,' _She thought. _'I need to leave soon. What have I done...?'_

"Annie?" A familiar voice called from outside her room, it was Zana."You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Annie yelled. "What time is it?"

Zana opened the door to her room, poking her head inside. "It's 9:20, we should probably head out now."

"Okay," She said, closing her sketchbook, she put it in the bottom cupboard of her night table. Grabbing her purse and her car keys, she walked out of the room closing the door behind her. "Where's Sam?"

"She's waiting outside," Zana said. "Um, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Annie said quietly. She decided not to tell her about her most recent vision... About Madara Uchiha.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm hoping we can get out of the house without being interrogated by Pain… Then hopefully, just you, me and Sam can go."

They walked past the living room without saying anything. But before they could get any farther, Pain called out to them. "Where are you going?"

"Uhhh… We're going to the Canada parade and then we're going to Campbell River to see the fireworks tonight," Annie sighed. "Sorry to break it to you but we're not hunting people down and killing them."

"I don't know what the hell Canada day is but I want to see the fireworks, un" Deidara said, walking out of the living room. "I love fireworks!"

"Go with them then," Pain said blankly.

"I'll go with them as well," Itachi said, he was wearing the same clothes that he was wearing the other day at the beach. Annie wanted to scream, she didn't mind having Deidara come with them, but having Itachi as well was… Irritating. Almost irritating at least. Deidara shot him dirty look, clearly not liking the idea of having Itachi come with them.

It was then that Kisame appeared, looking at Pain and then at Annie.

"I'm coming as well," He announced. "I'm sick and tired of being stuck in this house."

"Oh _hell no." _Zana groaned, and Annie couldn't help but agree with her.


	9. No True Heroes

Chapter 8: No True Heroes

_Tap, tap, tap..._

The Raikage sat at the table, a furious expression on his face; tapping the table with his pen in what seemed to be impatience.

"So..." He said, sitting up straight. He looked at Anko, her face pale and her expression distraught. The rest of her team stood behind her, with the same expressions as her. "You're telling me that somehow, Madara Uchiha has disappeared?"

Anko, bit her lip, frowning. "Yes, that is what I am saying." She spoke with confidence, though her voice slightly wavered. "We tracked Kabuto to his... I mean, Tobi's head quarters... But Madara and Zetsu were gone, even Kabuto was shocked. He doesn't know where they went. We even attempted to track Tobi, but we have found nothing."

"And what of Kabuto?" Mei Terumi asked, more calm then the rest of them. "What happened to him?"

"Kabuto didn't attempt to fight us. He just ran away."

Tsunade sighed, looking among the Shinobi now gathered in the room. Shikaku looked at her as if expecting her to say something, but she was sure whatever she said, would only make the tension amongst the Shinobi worse. Apparently, it was chaotic among the rest of the Shinobi forces, many of them demanding to know what had happened to Madara Uchiha. Some had assumed that maybe Madara was killed by Kabuto, or slain by someone else entirely. Tsunade had doubted it, she had a feeling that Madara was still alive... Somewhere, at least.

She folded her hands on the table. "Perhaps the other search teams will turn up with something. If Madara escaped for whatever reason, or went into hiding, he couldn't have gone that far."

"Gone into hiding with information that Kisame Hoshigaki gave him about the Alliance!" The Raikage growled. "The damn bastard-"

He was cut off as the door to the room was slammed open, Kotetsu Hagane looked at them, wild eyed and his black hair messy. "I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't interrupt an important meeting... B-but I have important information..."

"Regarding Madara's disappearance?" Gaara asked.

"Well, it's not-"

The Raikage narrowed his eyes at the Chunin. "Just tell us!"

"I... Very well." Said Kotetsu. "My team were searching near Konoha for any trace of Madara... While we didn't find Madara, we found something else... In the Nara Clan forest."

"_And?" _Tsunade asked, she had a feeling she would not like what he would say next.

"Well the the place where Shikamaru buried Hidan... It wasn't dug up, but no one could sense any Chakra there. So we decided to investigate further... When we dug up the grave... Well his body was gone. Hidan is gone."

Xxxxxx

At around 4:00 that day, Annie's father called. She felt both terrified and relieved to finally get a call from him, excusing herself not-so-politely from the restaurant table to answer the call.

She sat on the cool marble floor of the bathroom, in Spice Hut, her favorite Indian restaurant in Campbell River. The sound of dishes clattering and the voices of the cooks came from the kitchen, the smell of delicious spices wafting in the air. She decided to come here to keep the conversation private, even though she could have just gone outside.

"Thank God… Are you okay?" She asked, keeping her voice quiet. "Dad?"

"I think I'll be fine…" He grunted. "I'm in pain… But more than anything, I'm shocked. Matt's dead. Some of the guys were so young and were looking forward to this training… They were nice fellows too and now… They're gone."

"Not all of them." Annie said softly. "Once you're a bit better… You can come home, I'll look after you."

"We'll see… I'll be in the hospital for longer… Somehow, I was the lucky one… The other survivors had it worse than me. But why me?"

"I'm just glad that you're okay... That you're alive." Said Annie. "Who would have done this to you?"

There was silence at the other end of the phone, before he spoke again, his voice soft. "Someone… Tried to kill us. This was no accident. But I can't explain it, Annie. These weren't normal killers-"

"You saw them?!" She gasped.

"I think I did... I swore I did," He said. "I have a concussion so I can't remember that well, but I do remember a knife being thrown at me... It was so strange, it was like some kind of dream. Maybe you would understand what I'm trying to say Annie. I'm just... I just don't think it was an accident.

'_Shinobi...' _It was the first word that came to Annie's mind. Could it be, that maybe Shinobi tried to kill her father? But it had made no sense, surely there were no Shinobi in this world. Unless there were, but they kept their existence secret.

"Then they need to get their asses out there… Find these people and kill them!" Annie yelled, not realizing just angry she was out. But now, she wanted to let all her anger out, so much of had been bottled in from her strange visions to the Akatsuki… And now this. If only, she could do something, _anything, _to track these people down... To prevent them from hurting anymore people she cared about.

"Shh… Sweetie, calm down." Her father said softly. "I know this is hard… But it's harder on me right now. I have to lay in this damn hospital bed and you're all the way over there… I wish I could see you right now. Are you at home?"

"No," She sighed. "I'm in Campbell River, me Zana and Sam... Are at Spice Hut right now."

"Oh nice, did you have the Chicken Masala for me? I sure do miss having Indian food, none of the other guys really like Indian food."

"I didn't finish it yet… But yes, I got that." She laughed, Chicken Masala was her father's favourite Indian dish. Annie liked it as well, but her favorites were the vegetarian dishes, such as Shahi Paneer, Dal Makhani and Malai Kofta. Annie and her mother would often make Indian food when she was not away, along with Roti and Masala chai. For dessert, they would have Gulab Jamun or Ras Malai, but Annie had always preferred the Gulab Jamun.

"Alright," He sighed, clearly sounding exhausted. "I'll call you tomorrow morning then… Because I guess you guys are going to see the fireworks tonight."

"Yeah we are." She played with her hair, noticing that in the light, bits of it looked a bit red. She would need to dye it again."I work at 10:00 AM tomorrow, so call me maybe before 9:00 AM."

"..If you're awake." He snorted.

"Which I will be because I sometimes like being up early, you know." Annie rolled her eyes.

"Alright, whatever you say, Princess." He said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, I love you."

"I love you too," She smiled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Ending the call, she got up and walked out of the washroom. Thankfully, no one was waiting outside, waiting to use it next. She tried to look normal and not worried as she made her way back to her table. Zana, Sam, Deidara, Kisame and Itachi all looked at her as she walked over to their table and sat back down, finishing her food.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked.

"Uh… Well, he'll be fine… He'll be in the hospital for a few weeks. After that he'll come home and have time off work because of what happened." Annie said, avoiding their gazes. "So I expect for you all to be on your best behavior when he comes back... Because I don't think he wants to babysit a bunch of criminals."

"What happened to your Dad?" Kisame asked ignoring Annie's comment. He had disguised himself as a normal person, much to his own disliking. Annie had to explain to him that people would freak out if they saw a person who liked a shark just walking around town. She was glad that he agreed to disguise himself, though he had given her a nasty glare for telling him what to do. Apparently, Kisame wasn't a person who didn't like being told what to do by a 17 year old girl.

"He was involved in that… 'Accident' in Nova Scotia, didn't you see it on the news? Deidara got a laugh out of it." Annie said bitterly, pointing her fork at Deidara.

"Hey! I said sorry, I didn't realize that your Dad was in that accident… I didn't even know he was a cop, hn!" Deidara snapped.

Sam glared at Deidara, scoldiing him. "Keep your voice down, people are looking at us."

"But do you think… That was really an accident?" Zana asked quietly.

"Fuck no," Annie retorted, seeming to catch the others off guard. "He thinks someone tried to kill him, and I have a feeling that it wasn't an accident."

"Who?" Sam asked. "There no traces of other cars at the scene. Hell, they haven't even found any evidence that they _were _attacked… From what it looks like."

"What?!" Annie blurted out, slamming her hand down on the table. A family sitting a few tables away from them stared at her, she flushed in embarassment. "Where did you read this?"

"Whoa, whoa... Chill out Annie. Now people are staring at _you_. We've been reading about on our phones… Bunch of articles on _Facebook_…" Zana explained. "In one of the articles, it said that people who saw the accident said that they just saw one of the police cars suddenly just lose control, crashing into the other ones… And all just went down from there."

Annie thought it was a joke. She tried to wrap her head around this. "Well... I guess it must have been another stupid drunk driver. But who knows, people fucking suck at driving these days..."

"Then… I don't know. Who knows what will happen. But it doesn't matter, your Dad survived." Sam reassured her.

_It doesn't matter. _It was so easy to say those three words, move on and then forget. Maybe that's what Sam and Zana wanted, was to move on and forget. To pretend that this wasn't happening, that maybe things couldn't get worse from here. Annie wasn't an optimist or pessimist; she tried to be a realist. And realistically, it looked like things might get worse.

Zana and Sam continued talking, but Kisame, Itachi and Deidara looked at her. Almost as if expecting her to say something else, or maybe trying to figure out what she was thinking._ 'Forget it' _she thought, trying to force the thoughts away. Maybe it was not worth it to dwell on the current situation.

"How's the food?" She asked, attempting to sound more enthusiastic.

"Well… Different…" Kisame grumbled. "Spicy."

"I like it, hn!" Deidara remarked. "It's flavourful, I've never had anything like it."

Annie only nodded. After they were done eating, they went to the movie theatre and saw _Captain America _which helped get her mind off what had happened to her father. Sam and Zana joked that it was Chris Evan's abs that made Annie like the movie, she insisted that she has seen much better abs than Chris Evan's though. Kisame pointed out that the movie was too cheesy and boring. "It was so typical. The hero is good looking white man, he saves people because he's so 'Good' and then he earns the love of some beautiful girl, blah, blah, blah..." He explained, somewhat bitterly. "I hate movies like that. If you're a guy with super powers everyone will love you and you will save the world from evil. It's so unrealistic."

"It is," Said Annie. "But it's fiction. Maybe people like movies and books like this because it gives them... Hope. Hope that they can be a hero, the hope to overcome evil... And I'm not talking about the typical 'Villain evil' but different kinds of evil..."

Kisame looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Too bad for them. Because life does not work out that way."

As the day seemed to fly by, Annie had a feeling that there was something missing. That maybe there were things about the world she did not know about, that every human in this world wasn't supposed to know about. Maybe there have always been Shinobi but they hid from other people, so that people would not fear them. If people did know that people as powerful as Shinobi existed, the government would track them down, maybe even kill them.

For once, she thought maybe she wasn't the only crazy one in this world. That there people like her, people like the Akatsuki.

* * *

_The next day._

_July 2__nd__ 2011_

_It's been 2 years since that day._

_2 years ago, I almost died… Well I could have died. But I lived, I'm still alive. Somehow we were saved._

_Me, Mom and Dad were driving home from Campbell River two years ago. It was late at night, and Mom was playing Joni Mitchell. I tried to block out the music because I hate Joni Mitchell, but that's not the point here. I was sitting in the back seat of the car… I was thinking about him, about Itachi. I had a vision of him dying and I was so scared. I was so scared to have lost him… To lose someone who's name I didn't know, someone I had never met, someone I didn't know actually existed._

_Then all of a sudden, mom screamed and dad was yelling. When I looked up I saw the bright lights of a truck driving towards us. I didn't scream, I didn't cry all I thought was 'I'm gonna die.'_

_Then something happened, something weird. A car drove between us and the truck, stopping it from hitting us, Dad just managed to swerve out of the way of the other car and the stop at the side of the road. We were stunned, shocked._

_I was the first to get out of the car and walk over to the car that had come between us. The driver was drunk, slurring curse words under his breath, yelling at me. I looked through the windshield of the car, but no one was in the car. There was no way they could have just left now, because I didn't see someone get out of the car._

_I was always curious, so I opened the car door and looked inside. There were no insurance papers, only a gold ring shaped as a dragon on the car seat. I kept the ring, even though I shouldn't have. It was later revealed that there was no information on where the car was from, nor any information on who owned it. It was as if a ghost had taken it. They had tried tracking it by using the license plate number but it was useless, there was no information on who had owned or where it came from._

_Whoever it was though had saved my life. This same person had save my Dad's life, just two days ago, he was convinced, anyways._

_Madara Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha… Akatsuki, car crashes, a ghost who had saved us, visions of the future, Shinobi… It all didn't connect or did it? In just one week, my life has changed the world I thought I once knew now looks so different. I look around and see people who are caught in this life and I wonder… Do they ever think the things I do? Do they think that life could change so quickly, in one minute, one day, or one week?_

_I am a mess. I can't think straight, all my thoughts are tangled together and I can't seem to make sense of them anymore. Even though Dad called me back, I don't feel much better... I feel more terrified and afraid... Afraid that someone will try to kill me next, that they will hurt my friends or anyone else I love._

_But I can't stop asking myself, over and over again... Who is Madara Uchiha?_

Annie had usually dreaded work, but now, being at work would probably be the most enjoyable part of her summer. Besides, there were other things to dread than work, such as Shinobi Criminals in your house… One of which tried to kill her and didn't apologize to her for it. All she got from Hidan after the 'Incident' was a blank stare or a nasty glare. But she had gotten no apology from him, which did not surprise her. The masochist was not the type to apologize, it seemed.

She sighed as she walked into the break room of _Value Village. _The too bright lights and the dull gray walls were more welcoming than the Akatsuki at home, these walls had more emotions than Itachi. She laughed at the thought, but then internally cursed herself for thinking of such a joke. After all, there could be a tragic reason why he seemed so emotionless.

Annie had made sure to bring her journal with her to work, along with her sketchbook. Not just because she liked to draw during her breaks, but because the Akatsuki would try to snoop through her room again. She didn't want them taking her sketchbook and going through it. Zana and Sam had stayed at her house, she trusted them enough to babysit those criminals. She set her stuff down on one of the dirty, gray, folding tables - Making a noise of disgust as she nearly set her purse down on spilled soup. Why was it so hard for people to clean up after themselves?

"Oh hello Annie," She turned around to see one of her supervisor's Sean walk into the break room, drinking a _Monster _energy drink as usual. Death in a can is what she liked to call them, well her Mom called them that, because they were one of the unhealthiest things you could put in your body. People had said that they contained Bull piss, maybe that could have been some sick rumor, she didn't pay much attention to the Nutrient facts of energy drinks.

"Hey Sean, you seem chipper as always," She remarked. "Anything new with you?"

"Nope, same old. I heard about what happened by the way, to your dad, you doing alright?"

Annie smiled. She had never tried to let negative emotions affect her too much, she tried to push past it and move on, just like her Dad. But this time, it was different. "He's tough as nails, I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm worried about him though and my mom too. He's gonna have to take some time off work when he comes home…"

"Shit," He said taking a sip of his _Monster. _ "He's lucky to be alive, after that accident. We tried to call you the other day, by the way."

"Oh sorry, I didn't call back." Annie felt embarrassed for not calling back. _'Sorry, I've been busy dealing with a bunch of lunatics. You see, one of them tried to sacrifice me to their God... And one of them, is a boy I have been having visions about... For years.' _There was no way she could tell Sean that though. "I've been rather busy."

"That's okay. We're short on people in production, I was wondering if you would like to help out in the back for a week? Not next week, but the week after. I already have Sterling helping out next week."

Annie almost wanted to shout with glee. Not like working in production interested her too much before, but this was perfect. She would be working from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM which means she could be away from the Akatsuki longer. "I'll do it, would be a nice change of pace. As much as I like being off from school, I like to keep myself busy."

"Great, thanks Annie," Sean said, walking out of the break room.

Annie had a 7 hour shift and for once, she hoped it would go by slow. Nothing of interest or exciting happened during work, a woman named Georgina came in to buy jewelry for about the third time that day. She was always in the store about 3 times a day every day of the week apparently. Her coworkers Carolyn and Sterling talked about _The Mortal Instruments _at one point, Annie added in that the best book in the series so far was _City Of Glass. _Also, as per usual, someone complained about the price of a blanket. "$129.99?!" The customers had gawked. "Isn't that a bit expensive for a thrift store?"

"It's a 100% wool, _Hudson Bay Company_ blanket, miss." Annie had explained, in the most kindest voice she could muster. "They usually sell for almost $300... They're very nice blankets, and we'll still put it out for a higher price. Especially if they're in nice condition."

The woman had shot her a nasty look, muttering something under her breath as we walked away. Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes, she wasn't the one who priced these things. Besides, she had acted nice with the lady.

To her disappointment, her shift only seemed to go by faster than usual. Something had felt off the whole time as though someone was watching her. During her last coffee break, she drew in her sketchbook. She seemed to zone out while drawing sometimes, when she looked at the picture, she sighed. Itachi, again.

Her phone vibrated, she checked it, there was a text from Sam; _'How's work?'_

_Annie: Boring as usual, nothing interesting seems to happen here. I'm assuming everything's fine over there?_

_Sam: Yeah, me and Zana left for a bit to go to our places. But all was fine when we came back, haven't seen Itachi around._

_Annie: Maybe he's just brooding in a corner._

_Sam: Maybe… Anyways, we'll talk to you later. Me and Zana are going to go make dinner._

* * *

The drive home was peaceful. Annie had taken the top off her Jeep, allowing the warm Summer wind whip her hair back as the music blasted on her stereo. As she reached her house, the peace she was feeling vanished, replaced with a feeling of dread and terror. To her relief, when she walked into the house, no one was in the living room or the dining room. Walking upstairs and into her room, she was greeted by Sam and Zana who were on their laptops.

"We should watch a movie," Annie suggested, throwing her purse on the bed and sitting down. "Perhaps_ Princess Mononoke? _It's my favourite movie ever, and I don't think either of you guys have seen it yet."

"…Sure," Zana shrugged, looking at her.

"I don't think I've seen it… But you always talk about it, so I'll definitely watch it," Said Sam, closing her laptop.

When they went downstairs, they saw that none of the Akatsuki were still in the living room, where they usually were. Sam said that they must have gone outside, which had concerned Zana greatly. She swore that they must have been out there trying to kill people, but Annie dismissed her worries. But even she wondered for a moment where they went, where Itachi could be, but let that thought go. She put the movie in the DVD player and turned off the lights, sitting on the couch between Zana and Sam.

_In ancient times, the land layed covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the Gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts… Who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit, for those were the days of gods and demons..._

"What movie are you watching, hm?" Deidara asked loudly almost making the three girls jumped. He leaned against the sliding door to the living room, Sasori standing behind with an impatient expression.

"Shh!" Zana hissed. "Be quiet! If you really want to know, then sit down be quiet, and watch the movie."

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the other couch, Sasori joining him. Sam told him quietly and shyly, that they were watching _Princess_ _Mononoke_. Soon the rest of the Akatsuki had come and sat down to watch the movie, not saying anything. Annie didn't complain, as long as they were quiet while watching the movie, she could deal with them. Though she was surprised to see that even Pain and Konan had stayed to watch the movie, sitting quietly on the chairs from the dining room. While Kisame and Itachi sat on the sectional couch, talking quietly, Annie wrapped a blanket around her, not realizing just how tired she was.

From their unusual silence, Annie assumed that the Akatsuki were enjoying the movie. About halfway through it, her eyelids started to feel heavy. She forced herself to stay awake even though exhaustion seemed to take over her body; she slumped down on the couch, resting her head on Zana's shoulder.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Zana whispered."You drool in your sleep too."

"Meh…" Annie grunted, closing her eyes. The sound of the movie and voices faded as she slowly feel asleep.

_BOOM!_

_She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in what seemed to be an office building, her body pressed against the wall in the hallway. Hiding, but from what? He heart beat fast in her chest, her hair damp and skin damp with sweat._

_BANG!_

_Another explosion? She ran, as fast as she could. It seemed different, like she was lighter on her feet and much faster than before. Silently, she turned each corner, trying to escape. But she was stopped when someone charged towards her, she dodged swiftly, pulling out her katana. Her attacker didn't stop, running towards at high speed again, throwing Shurikens at her. One grazed her cheek as she dodge them, attempting to slice the enemy with her katana. They crouched, thrusting two shurikens up at her, she jumped back backwards, landing soundlessly on her feet. Without time to think, she dodge her attacker with her sword, as their weapons clashed._

_Then, there were two more of them. No, four more. All wearing black, ready to attack her, to kill her. _

_One of them screamed as someone attacked them from behind, slicing them in half. Blood sprayed across the floor as the other two attempted to fight back. Annie yelled and kicked the enemy, slamming them into the wall, she plunged her katana into their chest, feeling a surge of adrenaline run through her body._

_Never had She felt powerful... So alive. The thought had sickened her but it was true, no wonder her heart was beating so fast, it was pure adrenaline. She pulled her katana out, readying herself for another attack…_

_But the other Shinobi layed dead on the floor, blood pooling underneath their lifeless corpses. Itachi looked at them and then at her._

"_Annie, are you okay?" He asked, he looked worried. He had received no injuries, not even a scratch from the Ninjas he had fought. Itachi was a powerful and skillled Shinobi, one who fought expertly. Annie couldn't help but admire him for his immense skill, his physical prowess. There was something about the way he fought that almost took her breath away; He was beautiful but he looked even more beautiful when he fought, especially with his Sharingan. Even now, his Sharingan was still activated, his eyes locked on her._

"_I'm… Fine…" She breathed, staring back at him. _

_He walked towards her. "We should get out of here now."_

"_We should," Said Annie. "We can't be fighting or causing disturbance in a place like this. Especially in this world, let's go."_

_Itachi nodded, making his way down the hallway, Annie followed behind him. It was quiet again, until something flashed in her mind. A vision… A vision of more enemies, they would be here soon and Annie panicked._

"_Itachi! There's more of them coming, about 10 of them this time."_

"_Don't worry," Itachi said calmly."I won't let them hurt you."_

_It was those words that put Annie's mind at ease, that made her safe. He took her hand, running faster now. Annie's heart beat faster than before, not from the adrenaline but from the warmth and comfort of Itachi's hand. There was another explosion and then voices nearby, but Annie didn't panic, she didn't even look back. _

'_Itachi...' She thought. Even just the sound of his name, made her skin tingle, made her heart flutter._

_Without even looking, they knew that the enemy was behind them now, they both dodged as Kunai knives were thrown at them. They couldn't run anymore, they had to escape now._

"_Itachi," She explained. "At the next turn, straight ahead there's a window. We're going to jump out of there."_

_For a split second, he seemed to hesitate. But they kept running. Suddenl a sharp, searing pain shot through Annie as a kunai pierced her shoulder. She gasped. "Ah!"_

"_Annie!" Itachi yelled, but Annie ignored him. She kept running and without hesitation, she ran towards the window, slamming her body against it. They both jumped, looking down to see water below. _

_Annie did not scream, soon enough they hit the water, the ice cold ocean shocking her._

She awoke, gasping. Gasping for air. But she was not in the water, she was home. Throwing the blanket off of her, she looked around the living room. No one else was there and the T.V. was off, so she must have been asleep for a couple of hours now.

A cool breeze blew through the open sliding door, shivering, she went back upstairs to her bedroom.

* * *

Suprisingly, nothing of particular interest had happen within the next few days. The Akatsuki had made no attempt to interrogate Annie to see how much she knew about them and their world. She was glad about this, though a few had still remained suspicious about her. Occasionally, she would find Kisame looking at her with nasty glare, or a questioning look. Annie simply ignored the Shark man. But she had made sure to talk to her mother and father as much as possible. Her father was still in the hospital and her mother had remained optimistic of her father's healing.

"I have faith that he will heal fine," Her mother said. "He has us, after all. Our support and love will help him through this."

Annie's mother was a believer that love could truly heal anything. Perhaps that was why she was a missionary, helping the poor in developing countries and villages. Not just preaching, but bringing medical aid as well, which was why she had become a doctor. Her parents were quite opposites in ways, but there were a few things they had common. Her mother was devout Christian, a Doctor and a Missionary. She was raised in a wealthy and 'perfect' family, of course, all of them being Conservative Christians from the Netherlads. Her father was a Cop, his family was from England but like her Mother, he had also moved to Canada at a young age. He was raised in a middle class family, who lived on a farm. His family were also Christian Conservatives, but her father wasn't as Conservative as his family, neither was her Mother. 'A typical Canadian family' some people would tease, even though Courtenay wasn't a huge Christian city. Abbotsford and places in Alberta and Saskatchewan had more bigger Christian communities.

Then there was Annie, who in her mind, was nothing like her parents. Her father had dark brown hair and brown eyes and her mother light blonde hair and blue eyes. Annie was cursed with fiery red hair, earning her many rude and unlikeable nicknames. Nicknames such as Jalapeno pepper, Tomato, ginger, and her least favourite, Strawberry Shortcake. She had glass green eyes, which made up for her red hair, because people complemented her eyes more than her hair. She was in no way Religious and in no way Conservative. Even though she was raised this way, her parents gave up on doing this after Annie had a fiery debate with a Sunday school teacher about creation and evolution.

Annie was smart, intelligent, like her Mom. While she liked philosophy and science, she also was creative and enjoyed art and reading. She was in extrovert, but from having to deal with bullying in school she had become quieter. Which wasn't a bad thing, it was better to keep to yourself sometimes, it didn't stop her from speaking up when the moment was right. But she didn't like it when all the attention was on her, whether good or bad. That was weird apparently, considering she was an extrovert.

For once, there seemed to be no chaos in the house. Everything was peaceful, even though Hidan's presence made it uncomfortable at times; she just shook it off and ignored him. All of the Akatsuki still seemed to look at her strangely at times, if she was in the living room reading a book and they came in, they would look at her. When she went into the kitchen and some of them were there, they would stare at her. It was as if she was an animal who was supposed to be extinct, or a foreign creature they had never seen before.

Her father was starting to feel better, mentally at least. Her Mother remained optimistic for his healing and best of all, no one had tried to kill her. No one else had been hurt or killed. For once, Annie thought that the craziness in her life might settle down a bit, it seemed that things started to look up a little more for her. _"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." _As said in _A Tale Of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens.

But then everything changed on Tuesday, July 5th. It all went downhill...

She was sitting outside on the porch, reading her book when Kisame came outside. He stood in front of her, waiting for her to put down on her book.

"Um… Hi," She grumbled, not liking the fact that he was hovering over her.

"Your daddy's cop friend is here," Kisame stated, in a cool, mocking voice. "Just thought you should know."

"Thanks," Annie said. "He-"

"Yeah, I know. We should go hide." Kisame sighed, walking away. Annie just sat there, wondering how Kisame could be so unpleasant. Zana was right about him, he was rude, an asshole more like.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rang; Annie ran to the front door and opened it. "Hi Tom."

"Oh… Hi, Annie," He seemed taken aback. "How are you?"

Annie smiled. "Fine, as always."

"Can I come inside?"

"Of course."

Tom took a seat on one of the couches in the living room, chatting with Zana and Sam. Annie walked to the kitchen to get him a cup of coffee, deciding she would have one herself. But when she walked back into the living room, they were silent. Confused, she looked at them, expecting them to say something, but Sam or Zana wouldn't look at her. Something was wrong; why else would Tom be here? Maybe it was something with her Dad, but he was fine when she called him earlier.

Annie sat down on the couch, taking a deep breath. "Is something wrong?"

"Annie…" Tom started, he was silent for a moment. "Something happened…"

"Yeah, I get that. Did something happen to my Dad?"

"No, he's fine," Tom reassured. "But in the middle of the night, we got a call from a few kids. They had discovered a body in the forest in Cumberland."

A gasp escaped Annie's throat, her heart starting to beat faster in her chest. "It was someone I knew, wasn't it?"

"I'm so sorry, Annie," Tom said softly. "But it was… Last night, your friend Tara was murdered."

* * *

It was hot, almost too hot. It reminded him of Summer days in Konoha. Those memories were pleasant, Itachi thought of them now, but they only brought a feeling of bitterness and longing.

The leaves rustled as a soft summer breeze blew through the forest, the sun shining down on Itachi as he waited, leaning against a tree. He thought of Konoha, his home village. But it was home to him no longer, he was a criminal, he had no home and no family.

"This forest… It reminds you of Konoha, doesn't it?" Madara spoke, walking towards him. Konan, Pain and Kisame stood behind him silently. Itachi ignored him, not interested in speaking to him.

"Tch, too bad everything else is different," Kisame said. "Such a strange and peaceful place, I don't like it."

"I'm sure we won't be here any longer," Pain explained. "We can't waste our time here any longer. I'm sure we'll find a way back soon."

"I'm not worried about that," Madara explained. "Perhaps the more time that we spend here, the better."

Konan frowned, turning to Madara. "What do you mean?"

"Perhaps you haven't noticed, or you haven't looked close enough to see it… But I have seen it. You think this world is different from ours, but maybe it's not so different. There was a reason, why we ended up here, in Annie's house."

"And why is that?" Itachi asked, not sure if he liked where this conversation is going.

"Annie… And her family hold secrets, secrets that she doesn't know about. No one in this world has the power that she does, so how does a girl in this world possess that power? How does she obtain it? I'm interested to know..."

"Maybe… Because there are other Shinobi in this world as well," Pain remarked. "Though I don't know for sure if there are."

Madara seemed to smirk behind his mask. "It's possible. This means at all costs, we keep Annie alive. But I have other plans for her."

"She's… Just a kid," Konan looked concerned. "What are you planning on doing with her?"

"We train her to be a Shinobi," Madara explained. "Train her to be one of us, discover the full extent of her powers."

Itachi though, felt sick at this idea. He didn't like it, he had a terrible feeling about it. "Do you think she's even capable of being a Kunoichi?" '_You're not even telling us the truth, there's more that he's hiding from us.'_

"Once she becomes a Shinobi," Madara announced. "She will come back with us whether or not. We need her for the War, but I don't want Zana and Sam, they will only be nuisances."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "That and they don't have any particularly interesting abilities... Aside from being annoying. So what do we do with them?"

"There's no point in keeping them alive… Kill them. But in the mean time, find out more about Annie..."

Nothing else was said; Madara vanished, leaving them there to ponder what he had said. Images of Annie flashed in Itachi's mind; Annie laughing and smiling as if there was nothing wrong in the world, Annie with Sam and Zana. For some reason, as he thought of Annie, he had an urge, a desire to protect her and her friends. It was time to do the right thing, he couldn't let Madara destroy the lives of three young, ordinary girls. But would Pain and Konan do the same?

It was at that moment, a voice spoke in his mind, Konan's voice. Her voice was soft yet held a warning in it.

'_Protect Annie from Madara, Itachi… At all costs.'_

'_I will.'_


	10. Targeted

Chapter 9: Targeted

Tara was dead. She couldn't believe, couldn't comprehend that this was actually happening. How could this happen?

Her friend, her best friend was dead. They had been friends since they were so young. So many memories of the times they spent together flooded her mind, making her ache with despair. She was her best friend for so long, she was like a sister to her, a sister she never had.

And now she was gone, she was dead.

"How?!" she wailed in horror and disbelief. She stood up now, her whole body shaking. "How could this happen?! Why her?!"

Zana looked just as horrified, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I can't believe this… Tara is dead."

"It was terrible," Tom admitted. "They didn't just kill her, they tortured her… before they killed her. I've seen bad stuff… But this unlike anything I've seen… I don't understand how people can do such terrible things."

'_Because the world is cruel' _Annie thought, it was hell. First her Dad was attacked and then Tara was brutally murdered. Whoever did this was after Annie. That was her theory to say the least, these people, these Shinobi were after her. _If _there were Shinobi after her, trying to kill her and the ones she loved, how could she protect them. How could she prevent this from happening again?

"… Did they find anything else at the scene?" She inquired, hoping for any kind of evidence.

"I… Haven't heard anything yet," Tom replied.

Annie pondered the event for a moment, running a hand through her hair, habit of hers, especially when she was thinking. She couldn't think of anything to say, or even speak at all. She didn't feel anything but emptiness, as if the shock her friend's sudden death had made her numb and drained all of her energy.

Everyone was silent, shocked and disturbed. No one spoke a single word, as if one word would shatter the atmosphere in the room.

"I'm so sorry again about Tara." Tom didn't look at them as he spoke, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sure we'll find whoever did this."

"I don't understand why someone would do this," Sam said, looking puzzled. "I mean, kill her-"

Tom cut her off, a hint of impatience in his voice. "I'm not sure. We just found out."

He seemed stressed, Annie noticed. Maybe it was from this crime and her father almost dying in a freak 'accident'. But now, she realized something was off, very off. Maybe he was hiding something important from them, something he was afraid to tell. Annie decided it was best not to bombard the cop with questions, considering the situation.

"Look, I'm sorry… I wish I could stay longer but I have to go." Tom explained, getting up from the couch. "It's been a really hectic day…"

"I understand," Annie shrugged, even though she was confused just like the rest of them. She followed him to the front door. "This is terrible. Right now, I'm just too shocked to comprehend that this is happening. It feels like the world has stopped, that everyone has frozen but I'm the only who is not... I just, feel empty, hollow."

"I know it's hard on you, Annie. I'm so sorry, first what happened to your father and now this… I mean, for God's sake, it's terrible. You should talk to your mother, hopefully she can come home soon."

Annie bit her lip, trying not to imagine how her Mom would react seeing that a bunch of crazy, lunatics were living there now. No, her father's reaction would be the worst. '_I should tell him.' _She thought _'No… No, no, no. No. That's a bad idea.' _ Both her parents would be livid about this situation. They would probably threaten to kick the Akatsuki out of her house and then Annie would be grounded. Forever. But the Akatsuki were beyond powerful, they would most likely force her parents to let them stay in the house. No, she would not let them hurt her parents or anyone she loves, even if it meant that she got hurt instead.

She shook her head, attempting to get rid of those thoughts. But no matter what, they would not go away."We'll see. I'm fine, honestly, just shocked. But my Mom loves going to India, I don't want to ruin it for her…"

"But she loves you, she can sacrifice her missionary trip to be here with you."

"Well, I guess so…" Annie muttered, playing with her hair. "I'll talk to her…"

"Annie," Tom looked at her with a serious expression. There was a worried look in his blue eyes "I want you to do one thing for me."

She was confused at his words. "… What?"

"Don't leave your house tonight. Lock all your doors and stay inside the house."

* * *

The three girls were silent after Tom left, barely speaking a word to each other. They still were shocked about Tara's sudden death. The Akatsuki had asked them questions about what happened, but they told them it was nothing or ignored them, going up to Annie's room. It was not like the Akatsuki would care about what happened to Tara anyways, they seemed to be used to the idea of people dying. They sat in complete silence, Annie sitting on her bed, with her notebook in her lap. Sam and Zana sat opposite of her, Zana going through her phone, and Sam just stared blankly at the wall.

It was Zana who broke the silence. "So I guess we're next."

"The next to die, you mean?" Sam spoke glumly.

Annie took a deep breath, trying to think positively despite the grim silence. Her friends were terrified, she needed to help them, to encourage them to be strong. "We're not going to die. I won't let you two die."

"Then how do we defend ourselves against serial killers who will literally slaughter us?" Zana wailed, jumping out of her chair. She started pacing back and forth, clearly distressed.

"Maybe…" Sam said, thoughtfully. "The Akatsuki could protect us…"

Zana laughed, a lifeless and bitter laugh. "A bunch of criminals protecting us? Yeah right…"

"I don't think they'll hurt us," Annie exclaimed. "What I'm more worried about are the people who attempted to kill my father and then killed Tara."

"The Akatsuki would easily kill them, wouldn't they?" Sam explained. "I mean they're dangerous criminals, and if these people who killed Tara really are Shinobi as well… Then the Akatsuki could easily kill them. Though we don't know for sure if whoever attempted to kill your father and killed Tara are Shinobi. It could be two completely different people that did this."

Zana snorted. "If the Akatsuki really are powerful as they claim they are."

"Itachi slaughtered his whole clan… The Uchiha clan, a very powerful clan. Kisame…. Kisame Hoshigaki. He is known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist, because he's sadistic and brutal and he will not hesitate to slaughter his opponents, he also killed his own team mates. Hidan is immortal, even if you stab him in the heart, cut him to pieces, he will not die. He kills people to sacrifice them for his religion. Oh yeah, Kakuzu is 91 years old and uses other people's hearts to extend his life. He also has violent rages, so don't piss him off. That's just the gist of it. I won't get into much more detail." Annie explained coolly, as if she was simply reciting Canadian History facts to them.

"Wait… You know all of this?" Said Sam, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Yeah…" Annie sighed. "I've known for a while… I didn't want to say anything, because if they knew that I knew this… They would kill me."

"That or you'd be forced to be one of them." Zana sighed.

"No, I don't. None of us want to be cold blooded killers," Annie groaned. "That last thing I want is blood on my hands."

'_But it seems I might have to.' _Annie thought _'And I might have to tell them everything I know.'_

* * *

"Hidan, stop it…"

Hidan glared at Kakuzu venomously. "Shut the fuck up."

The zealot raised the stake, thrusting it into his chest this time. He groaned at the impact, not of pain but of pleasure. The rest of the Akatsuki said nothing, they just watched what was on T.V. trying to ignore the masochist. As disturbing as it might be to normal people, they were used to this; to Hidan cutting himself or stabbing himself for pleasure. Even though he was getting blood on the floor, he didn't seem to care too much about that.

"Stop, Hidan." Pain said, emotionlessly.

"Look, you fucking Dick… I wouldn't be doing this unless you let me kill that dumb bitch!" Hidan yelled, turning to Kakuzu again. "And admit it Kakuzu, if she was worth a lot of money dead… You would have fucking slaughtered that bitch too!"

"Not slaughter her. Her body would have to remain intact and her face unscathed, so that she could be properly identified," Kakuzu explained, coolly. "But I have more sense than you, I'm not killing her."

A moment later, Zetsu emerged from the ground, it was his black side that spoke. **"You might not have to wait much longer to find a sacrifice, Hidan."**

"What do you mean?" Sasori asked.

"**I've been outside, looking for anything interesting," **Black Zetsu spoke.**"Despite Annie saying that we couldn't go outside. At some pointed I sensed chakra, a few Shinobi perhaps."**

"But didn't Annie say that there was no such thing as Shinobi in this world?" Kisame frowned. "Maybe she was lying after all… Actually, she was most likely lying. She lies a lot and I don't like her."

Pain ignored Kisame's comment about Annie, turning to Zetsu. "Did you find them, Zetsu?"

"_No. They must have known that we were close by, they… Vanished." _ White Zetsu spoke.

"Ha!" Hidan was grinning, laughing with delight. "What a bunch of fucking pussies! They can try to run from me but they won't fucking-"

"We're not killing them either," Itachi spoke. "They could hold valuable information. We'll keep them alive… And interrogate them."

"I'll be more than happy interrogating them." Kisame chuckled.

Black Zetsu, ignoring Kisame, spoke again. **"I have other interesting information as well… Regarding Annie."**

At his words, everyone turned their eyes away from the T.V., to Zetsu. Waiting for what he had to say.

"Tell me." Pain spoke.

"**To be honest, I've been watching her for a few days now. She has a strong chakra, but that's not the point." **Black Zetsu said. **"A few days ago her farther was almost killed in that accident. But she doesn't believe it was an accident. Her father told her that someone had tried to kill him and Annie is convinced that it was Shinobi that tried to kill her father. Today, her father's cop friend, Tom, came here. He told her that Tara was killed, he didn't explain any further details. Only that she was murdered. But she suspects that the same Shinobi who tried to kill her father, killed Tara. Now she suspects that they will try to Kill her Sam and Zana…"**

Konan had opened her mouth to speak, but then the doorbell rang. They all looked at each other, as if expecting one of them to go answer it. Annie had told them many times now that they were not allowed to answer the door, in case it was one of her friends. As far as they knew, Annie's friends and family expected her to be home alone for the Summer, not with a bunch of S-class criminals. She explained this to them in the most bossy way possible, glaring at them as she said it.

"Really, un? I hope it's not Annie's stupid friend," Deidara groaned, dropping the magazine he was looking through.

Without speaking, Itachi walked to the front door. He opened it but there was no one there.

There was only a black envelope, laying in front of the door.

He picked it up, scanning it. On the front of it said 'Annie Harker' in neat, silver writing. Closing the door, he made his way upstairs to Annie's room to give her the card…

"What is it, Itachi?" Pain asked, now standing at the doorway of the living room. Itachi could feel his eyes on him.

Annie came bounding the stairs and into the hall, but halted and nearly tripped in front of Itachi. Her face flushed in embarrassment but then her green eyes drifted to the letter in Itachi's hands. She wore her hair up in a messy bun, which showed her red roots and in the right lighting, he could see her natural hair color starting to shine through her dyed brown locks. Itachi couldn't help but notice this, there was an air of mystery that surrounded Annie and he couldn't help but wonder why she dyed her brilliant red hair that dull brown color.

"That letter…" She said softly. "Who is it from?"

He handed it to her, their hands grazing for a brief second as she grabbed it. "I'm not sure. The doorbell rang but when I opened the door, there was no one there. Only this letter."

"… Thank you." She muttered, almost shyly and then walked away.

* * *

Annie went into the office, sitting down at the desk and looking at the letter. She would have gone back to her room but she wanted to read this letter alone. Something didn't feel right about this, why would someone ring the doorbell and leave the letter on her doorstop? Why couldn't they give it to her face to face? The room felt like it was spinning; too much had happened in the past week for her to comprehend. When would this hell end?

She opened the envelope, not bothering the flap, she ripped the side open. Inside was only one piece of white paper, she unfolded it and read it.

**_ANNIE HARKER_**

**_ROBERT HARKER _[KILL FAILED]**

**_ZANA GUTIERREZ _**

**_SAMANTHA HUNT_**

**_MARIANNE HARKER_**

**_TARA HANSON _[KILL CONFIRMED]**

**_SAVANNAH LEVINE_**

**_TOM GODDARD_**

**_MATTHEW BOLIVAR _[KILL CONFIRMED]**

**_KATIE DALE_**

**_JUSTIN MCCRAY_**

**_BRANDON FIELD_**

**_BRYSON HUBER_**

**_CHLOE VAUGHAN_**

**_ABHA CHAUDHARY_**

**_DEBDAN CHAUDHARY_**

**_ADIYA CHAUDHARY_**

**_MANEESH CHAUDHARY_**

**_RASHMI CHAUDHARY_**

**_KALIYANI SHARMA_**

**_KYO FUKUI_**

The feeling that the room was spinning stopped and all Annie could feel was cold dread. Fear, horror and anxiousness. She put the list down and noticed that there was a small piece of paper that fell out of the envelope, picking it up, she unfolded it and read it.

_Annie, I know this is sudden. But you must read carefully. This is a list of everyone you know, and of people close to your family. They are trying to kill your family and friends. Even I'm not sure who they are, but they are dangerous people, intent on watching everyone suffer and die. All of you must try to save them, protect them before it's too late. Always have one of them with you, they are powerful and will know how to deal with them. Even if you are alone for a short amount of time, they will try to find you and kill you. Please be safe._

"O-oh… My god…" Annie choked, her hands shaking. "Oh my god… No… No…"

"ANNIE?!" A voice boomed. The voice was familiar, it was Kisame and it sounded like he was heading towards the office.

She gasped, opening the drawer of the desk, she stuffed the list and note inside, slamming the drawer shut. She could hear Kisame's footsteps, she quickly grabbed a book off the shelf called _Gods in Print, _a book about the Hindu Gods. Leaning back in the chair, she pretended to be absorbed in the book just as Kisame walked into the room. _'Oh god, I hope he doesn't interrogate me..."_

He stood at the doorway, looking at her. Annie put her book down, pretending to be annoyed despite the fact that her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might explode. "How wonderful of you to grace me with your presence, do you request something of me?"

"I was just wondering if you're going to make dinner soon," He said, glaring at her. "What the hell are you reading?"

"It's a book about Hindu Gods, not something you'd be interested in." Annie sighed, pretending to look at the current page of her book.

Kisame was standing near the doorway, but then he walked into the room. Annie felt her stomach flip, the last person she wanted to be alone with was Kisame, actually that wasn't true. Hidan was the last person she wanted to be alone with, Kisame was second. He looked at her and then observed the books on the shelves, tapping his foot on the floor. He turned back to her, walking towards her.

'_No. No. No. NO. Don't come near me!' _Her mind seemed to scream, Kisame stood beside her now, crouching down and looking at her… Or at the book, she couldn't tell. Nor did she dare to look.

"Your heart is beating very fast." He pointed out, she froze. She felt like he was staring straight into her, trying to figure out something. Or did he know that she was hiding something?

Maybe he did know and he was going to interrogate her. She put the book down, looking at him. "You're making me very uncomfortable... Kisame."

"It's because you're afraid of me," He grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "That's okay, most people are… For a reason."

_'Oh here we go... He's going to try to scare me, then list off all the reasons why I should be afraid of him.' _Annie snorted. "I'm sure it's for more than one reason."

She should have taken back what he said, he violently turned the chair she was sitting in towards him. He was close to her now, glaring her down venomously. "You know, Annie. One thing you should understand about us Shinobi, is that it's hard to keep secrets from us. Especially in a house like this… Where… _Everyone_ can hear what you say."

"Then maybe you Shinobi should learn to mind your own business," Annie hissed. "I mean it's pretty rude to eavesdrop on people's conversations. Did anyone ever teach you proper manners?"

"You know, that's funny," Kisame's voice was low, but sharp. "Considering the things you say or not really your business… Let's see… That thing you said today… 'Kisame…. Kisame Hoshigaki. He is known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist, because he's sadistic and brutal and he will not hesitate to slaughter his opponents.'"

"Congrats, you can repeat after me. Should I give you a candy as a reward?" Annie snapped. Kisame looked taken aback, she stood up and he stood up as well. He was much taller than him, but Annie didn't care, she stood close to him looking him in the eyes. "Yes, I did say that. I know what you've done Kisame Hoshigaki, you don't have to try to scare me till I cry like a little girl to get information out of me. You're a monster, who killed his own comrades to prevent them saying any secret information. You plotted to overthrow the Land of Water's government, and you were involved in many assassinations… One that included another country's Feudal Lord, am I correct? But I must say… You believed in the cause you were fighting for so much, that you let yourself die for it. Letting yourself get eaten by your own sharks instead of leaking information about the Akatsuki… Impressive, really."

Kisame looked at her, emotionlessly. He clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes. "You… Do have some guts, saying that to me."

"Don't worry," Annie said. "Those are the only things I know about you. I know nothing else, I swear."

She sat back down in the chair, picking up the book with a sigh. "I hope you have patience because I want to finish reading this part of my book. Or Zana and Sam can make dinner… Or you can make your own dinner, Mr. Hoshigaki."

For a moment, Kisame stood there, staring at her. To her surprise, he turned around and stormed out of the room, muttering something under his breath. As soon as he was gone, Annie put the book back on the shelf and opened the desk drawer, taking the list and the note and putting it in her pocket. Her heart still beat like a drum, but she walked to her room slowly. The RCMP station, that's where she would go, she needed to see Tom. She wasn't sure if he was still on shift, but if he wasn't then she could try going to his place.

The only problem was… She wanted to go alone. But the Akatsuki wouldn't let her go alone, so she needed an excuse to go alone. Perhaps she could be truthful and say she was going to the police station or the morgue, or she could completely lie and make up a story of why she needed to go out alone. Some examples; she needed to pick up her paycheck from work, or she needed to go to _Wal-Mart _to get more tampons. That was true, her time of month was coming up soon and she had run out of tampons. The other option was to go out her bedroom window, but that would look too suspicious.

When she went into her room, Zana and Sam were still there. "Can you guys do me a favor?"

"Yeah," Zana said, still going through her cellphone, most likely on _Instagram_, or _Tumblr_.

"I need you to make dinner… For them, I have to go out." Annie spoke as she was getting herself ready, She put on a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a _Bring Me The Horizon _T-shirt. She grabbed her purse and keys, putting on her black _Converse. _"I just have to grab a few things from _Wal-Mart… _Tampons."

Sam raised her eyebrow "Is everything alright, Annie?"

"Yeah… Uh… I just would like to go out by myself for a bit."

She made her way to the front door, her palms sweaty. She tried not to run, but walked as fast as she could to the front door. '_Please don't ask me where I'm going. Please don't ask me where I'm going.'_

She just opened the front door when someone spoke. "Where are you going, Annie?"

'_FUCK, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. The deadpool…' _She turned around, facing Kakuzu who stood there with his arms crossed. As if he was in charge, even though it was her house and she could do whatever she wanted.

"I'm going to Wal-Mart to buy Tampons. You see, my time of month is coming up soon and I have no tampons left," Annie explained "So I wouldn't appreciate it if you stopped me from going to get something I need to have. Because if I don't have tampons then all my underwear will get bloody, therefor I will have to waste more money on new underwear. Underwear can be expensive man, especially thongs. They can be about $12."

Kakuzu just looked at her blankly, not seeming to be phased by what she said.

"Just let her go!" Konan yelled from the living room, Annie was glad there was at least one girl in the Akatsuki who understood her problem.

Kakuzu said nothing, only looked at her again and walked back into the living room. Annie walked outside, slamming the door behind her. She ran to her Jeep, got inside and drove out of the driveway.

She could have been relieved, but she wasn't. Because she wasn't getting out of the house by herself for freedom. No, there was a problem, the list was the problem. Maybe she should have told the Akatsuki before she left about the dead pool, she should have told Zana and Sam. But she needed to tell Tom first. Besides, if she told the Akatsuki about it, why would they care? They didn't care if any of her close ones got killed, or they would have interrogated her for information instead.

When she got to the RCMP station, she pulled the note and the list out of her pocket again. Re-reading it, then stuffing it back into her bag, she went into the station. She walked up to the desk, the window separating her from the officer on the other side, he was on the phone but smiled when he saw her.

"Yup… Okay… I'll talk to ya, later," He hung up the phone, looking at Annie. "What can I do for ya?"

"I'm looking for Tom… Uh, I mean Constable Godard," Annie said, biting her lip. She hoped Tom would be here, but if he wasn't, she would have to go to his house.

He shook his head. "Ah, he actually just off his shift… Headed straight home, is something wrong miss?"

"Ah, no… It wasn't an emergency. I just wanted to talk to him about my dad, Robert Harker."

"Ah! Your Robert's daughter!" He perked up, looking at her wide eyed. Annie thought that he must have been new to town, considering almost every RCMP officer new who she was, except this one. "How is he?"

Annie tried her best to smile. "My Dad's a trooper, he'll be alright. But he needs time to heal, when he comes back I'll do my best to take care of him."

"Thatta girl," He smiled. "But Tom's wife is on shift right now, if you want to talk to her-"

"That's okay," Annie shook her head. "I can always just call him or something, or see him later."

As soon as she stepped out of the station, she took out her phone out to call Tom. It was still light out, but she still was paranoid that someone might be watching her. The phone rang and rang again, he didn't pick up. She tried a second time but no luck, she would have to leave a message.

"Hi Tom, it's Roxanne… Look something happened and I would like to see you soon as possible. It's kind of urgent… So if you get my message please call me back. Bye."

She was craving coffee, so she decided to drive to _Starbucks_. She had tried to lay off the caffeine but failed many times, it was hard to resist coffee, especially during hard times like these. How else would she have so much energy to deal with the Akatsuki, anyways? Just as she parked her Jeep in the parking lot of _Starbucks_, her phone rang.

Annie picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Annie, it's Tom. I'm sorry I didn't answer your call, I was busy with the kids."

"That's okay," Annie sighed with relief, thankful that he called back. "I know you told me to stay inside and not to go out… But something happened, Tom. I know it might not be a right time… But if I could, can I come over?"

"Yes," He spoke softly, sounding concerned. "Is everything alright? Does this have to do with your Dad?"

"It has to do with both Tara and my Dad…" Annie said. "Uh… I'm at Starbucks now, do you want me to get you anything?"

"A venti coffee with just milk… And sugar… I don't usually take sugar in my coffee, but I think I might need it this time."

* * *

"Annie's been gone for a while…" Pain noted, not having touched his food at all. "Are you sure she just went to _Wal-Mart… _To buy tampons?"

"That's what she told me as well," Kakuzu said, looking over at Sam and Zana, a suspicious look in his eyes.

The two girls sat together, not sure of what to do or say. "I'm sorry but do you ninjas shop at super human speed? Because we're just regular people, so we tend to not be fast… And take our time." Zana explained. "Also, we tend to get distracted by other things… Like, makeup, fashion magazines and clothing."

"That's true," Konan said quietly.

"Annie also likes to have some time to herself as well," Sam spoke up. "And with you guys constantly seeming to bombard us with questions, I think she feels quite stressed."

Zana laughed. "Yeah, I'd rather be hanging out in the condom section in _Wal-Mart _then be hanging out with these guys."

"I'd rather be buried in that fucking hole again," Hidan growled, shooting Zana a nasty glare. "Then to be stuck in this fucking shitty as world, with these useless bitches."

"I'd rather kill myself then to her Zana speak ever again." Kisame chimed in. He seemed to be quiet agitated, though no one knew why and no one dared to ask.

"Okay, we get it. We all hate each other, cool story." Zana yelled in exasperation. "Now let's all be quiet and eat."

There was a moment of silent, nothing except the sound of forks scraping on plate and glasses being put down on the table. Kisame glared at Zana from across the table to which she flipped him the middle finger, he only rolled his eyes.

Sasori, who was always silent was the one to break the painfully awkward silence.

"I'd rather be killed by that Pink hair Kunoichi and my grandma than to be here with all of you."

* * *

Tom lived in Comox, in one of the nice new houses that were recently built in the suburbs, a quiet area. Annie didn't knock on the door when she got there, for he stood outside the house as if waiting for her. He must of had a feeling that something wasn't right, especially with everything that was going on

"You didn't have to wait out here," Annie said, handing him his coffee. She had opted for an iced coffee with cream and sugar, she liked her coffee sweet.

Tom looked at her, frowning. "I had to, because I know something is wrong… Let's go inside."

His two children were playing in the living room, his son Ryan was 8, while his daughter Charlotte was 5. Annie wasn't particularly fond of children but she liked Tom's kids, they were sweet and well behaved. She said hello to them before going into Tom's office, closing the door. Annie sat down at the desk across from him, pulling out the list and the note.

"Tom…" She spoke softly, her voice almost faltering. "I don't want to scare you and I don't want to put you in danger…"

"Annie, you're not putting anyone in danger," Tom asserted. "We're here to protect you, you don't have to be afraid… So tell me what happened? Also... I have been meaning to ask, what happened to your face?"

"I..." She faltered, trying to come up with an excuse. She had almost forgotten about her bruised eye and the cut on her cheek. She had told her coworkers that she had hit herself in the face. It was a lame excuse, but they had asked nothing else after that. "I was running in the forest with Otis and I accidentally ran into a tree."

"... Very well," He said, clearly not believe her lie. "Now tell me what happened... Is it about your father?"

She let in a deep breath, as if about to go underwater. "Today, a few hours after you left… Someone rang the doorbell to my house. When I went to go answer the door, there was only this letter

She pulled the envelope out of her purse and put it on the desk, Tom stared at it. Puzzled yet hesitant to touch it. "What did it say?"

"It... Is a list." Annie spoke quietly, taking the list and the note out of the envelope. "It was left for me... Only for me to see, I guess. But take a look for yourself."

Tom unfolded the list, his eyes scanning it and then he read the note "My name is on this list… But why would they give you the list and then this note? And… You're on the top of the list! What the hell?!"

Her vision seemed to become blurry, something seeming to spark at the edge of her mind, _'Oh god it's happening…' _She thought. Annie didn't close her eyes, but she let the vision come, like an ocean wave crashing over her.

_The vision reflected the current situation. She was sitting across from Tom, telling him about the list. Lights from a car flashed through the window, then a few times more, but they paid no mind to it. Tom looked out the window and frowned, but turned back to Annie. "I don't know what to do... Something bad is going to happen..."_

_Annie stood up and looked throught the window. There was nothing out of ordinary to be seen, but Annie could sense something... Someone. A chill ran down her spine, could it be them? "Tom… They're… Here."_

"_Who?"_

"Annie? Are you okay?"

Annie gasped, the vision escaping her mind. "I think we have to leave."

* * *

"How many bloody times do I have to tell you?" Zana yelled, slamming her hand down the table. "I don't know where she could have gone!"

Sam couldn't help but sigh at the situation. "She's only been gone for about an hour anyways."

Pain waved a hand at both of them as if to dismiss them or to be quiet, they were outside now. It was quiet and peaceful outside, only the sound of crickets seemed to echo through the night air. Itachi stood close to Sam and Zana, his arms crossed, staring off in the distance, like he always seemed to do.

"Is that all you do?" Zana asked, curiosity getting the best of her. "Like, stand there and mope all the time?"

She regretted asking the question the moment he glared at her, his dark gaze as sharp as daggers. Kisame laughed. "Don't ask stupid questions. Ever again."

"Kisame… Why is the earth round… Why is your skin blue? Why is grass green? Why are clouds white? Why was Mitt Romney even born?"

"Be quiet." Spoke Pain, raising his voice so that they could hear him."We will look for Annie."

The other Akatsuki members seemed to perk up at his words; apparently being stuck in the house for weeks was too much to bear. Even Zana was happy about this; her and Sam could be in the house without these psychos. Even an hour without them in the house would be wonderful.

Sam shrugged. "Um… Okay, but make sure people don't see you. People who look like sharks don't exist in this world."

"But psychopaths who murder people for their Religion do? How pleasant." Zana yawned, heading back inside the house."Anyways… You guys have fun, I think I'm going to go and relax…"

Pain stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "What makes you think that you're staying?"

"Because I want to." Zana stated matter of factly.

"Well that's too bad, because you're coming with us." Kisame chuckled.

Zana only groaned in defeat, attempting to glare at him like Itachi glared at her. Despite her attempt, she failed as he walked away smirking.

* * *

"Annie I don't understand what you're talking about…" Tom looked more worried now, his body tensed. "I'm sure everything will be alright…"

"I know It's crazy… But I think they're here now, Tom. They're here now to kill us." Annie warned. She looked around, as if expecting them to be appear any minute, her heart started to beat faster now, her nerves on edge.

His face went pale, looking at her as if she lost her mind. "You're scaring me, Annie. Have you been going to your therapy sessions?"

She opened her mouth to speak but then the doorbell rang. There was moment of silence between them, they looked at each other, hesitating to answer the door. _'Maybe he believes me,_' or maybe it was just another false hope of hers, no one else would ever believe. No one but her friends and the Akatsuki.

She spoke again, desperation in her voice. "Tom... Please."

The doorbell rang again, Charlotte and Ryan yelled from down the hallway. Tom looked out the window and back at her, he seemed to grow even paler as he stared at her. Slowly, she grabbed the list and the note and put it in her pocket. She stood up, wondering what to say.

_**BANG!**_

The door had slammed opened… No it had been broken down. Screams echoed throughout the house, before Tom or Annie could speak, something crashed through the windows, glass flying everywhere. Four figures clad in all black clothing and gear landed in the room, swiftly draw their weapons, the sound of metal singing a deadly tune.

"TOM! RUN!" Annie screamed, she broke out into a run, needing to get to Charlotte and Ryan before it was too late. Her heart beat even faster in her chest, afraid that maybe today she would die.

But as she turned, the last thing she saw were the knives flying towards her. All she could do was scream.


	11. Breaking Down

Chapter 10: Breaking Down

The Comox valley was a small town. But during the Summer, especially late at night, you would often see people still roaming the streets. Most of them were teenagers and others were either young adults walking home from the bar, mostly near downtown Courtenay.

But tonight, Sam had never seen the town so quiet, so deserted.

She shivered not just from the wind but from how far up she was from the city. She stared down, trying not to throw up. Deidara had told her that if she threw up, he would throw her off the big clay bird they were currently flying on. Sasori had told her that he was joking, but she didn't quite believe him. Heights... She hated being so far up in the sky, she hated heights the most. Except she never really told anyone she was afraid of heights, she was surprised that she was even able to jump off that cliff at Stotem falls. When she was ordered to go with Deidara and Sasori to look for Annie, she didn't argue. But once they had climbed up onto the giant clay birds, she almost screamed in protest.

"I'm seeing nothing, hm," Deidara yawned, seeming to be bored with the search already. "Maybe she's dead."

Sam couldn't help but groan. "Perhaps you didn't think that she might be in a building and not wandering about the city? You're not even bothering at this point. You just don't want to find her."

"You do know that I'm the one keeping you on here, right?"

Sam froze, afraid that he would push her off. She held onto him from behind, her arms wrapped around his waist so that she wouldn't fall off. Admittedly, she felt very uncomfortable being this close to him, especially the fact that his hair was whipping at her face. At one point, she tried to speak but his hair got caught in her mouth, making her gag.

"Okay. I get it. But I think we should go back to the ground and look around in the building."

She was surprised to hear that Sasori agreed with her. "She's right, Deidara, let's go down."

"Alright, hm!"

There was a tone of amusement in his voice, some kind of excitement. If Sam could face him now, he would probably be grinning. She opened her mouth to speak, but shrieked as the bird plunged towards the ground at a rapid speed. Deidara laughed like a maniac while Sam continued to scream at the top of her lungs.

She had regretted in trusting Deidara to prevent her from falling from the sky.

Xxxx

On the other side of town, in Comox, Zana followed Itachi and Kisame as they scanned the area. Her legs had ached from trying to keep up with them, she gave up, deciding to walk at her own pace farther behind them. It was nice, being away from them, but it would be better if she got to stay at the house. There was nothing unusual to see in Comox, especially at this time of night. All the small shops in downtown were closed, a few deer walked around the streets, some cars drove by... And that was all that seemed to be happening in Comox. There was a mall here as well, but it was a small and terribly boring mall where mostly old people went to.

Kisame stopped, turning around to look at Zana, looking very impatient. "Hurry up, we're not taking a late night stroll in the neighborhood. We're looking for your 'BFF'."

Zana rolled her eyes. "You guys walk way too fast. And don't ever say BFF again, you sound stupid saying it."

"I could carry you again…" Kisame shrugged, but then shuddered at the idea. "But I would rather not."

"DON'T!"

The last thing Zana wanted was to be carried around like a sack of potatoes by Kisame. When coming to Comox, she insisted that they drive here in her car. But Itachi and Kisame suggested that they walk and by walking, they meant running at almost an inhuman speed and jumping from tree to tree, or building to building. Zana was never a good runner to start with and the two Shinobi refused to drive there. Kisame had offered to carry her, clearly disgusted by the thought of it.

"I have to carry you like you're a toddler," He growled under his breath. "This is ridiculous."

"But Daddy, I'm not strong enough to walk on my own," Zana whined in a childish voice. "If only we could have gone in my car, WAH!"

She learned a great lesson then; never call Kisame Daddy. He would have ripped her head off, if Itachi hadn't told him not to.

In Zana's opinion, there was only two sane and somewhat normal people in the group; Itachi and Konan. While they were clearly not normal, they were normal _enough_ compared to the rest of the Akatsuki. Itachi looked normal, he was very handsome, too handsome in Zana's opinion. He barely spoke to anyone and seemed to have a calm or emotionless personality. Zana didn't understand why he had killed his own family and clan, she thought that maybe she didn't want to know. Then there was Konan, who she knew nothing about… So far. She was surprisingly nice to Zana, Sam and Annie, maybe because she sympathized with them in a way.

Speaking of Annie… Where had she gone? She was not at Wal-Mart, it was closed now anyways. Sam, Deidara and Sasori were downtown to see if she was there. Zana didn't get a text from Sam, so she assumed they hadn't found her or any sign of her yet.

'_Maybe she's at Tom's house?' _She thought, then wanting to smack herself for not thinking that earlier. They wouldn't have had to look around town for her if she had realized that. _'Damnit, now they're going to be all pissed off at me for not saying anything… Fuck, especially Kisame, since he hates me so much already.'_

She was snapped out of her thoughts by someone yelling, when she turned around, she was not surprised at the source. Hidan was yelling at Itachi and Kisame while Kakuzu stood silently beside him, looking like he wanted to kill Hidan at any moment. They seemed to pay no attention to Zana at the moment, too busy talking to each other. What were they talking about? Were they plotting ways to kill her? Or maybe they were plotting ways to kill or torture Annie, but they couldn't kill Annie because Pain wouldn't allow that to happen.

"You see? She wouldn't have run off if I just fucking killed her!" Hidan snapped. "This is such a waste of fucking time-"

"Be quiet!" Zana hissed. "People will hear you, the last thing we want is people or the police to come here."

Kakuzu looked at her. "Unfortunately, Hidan doesn't know how to be quiet… But how much use have you been?"

The last part of his sentence was supposed to sound like an insult, but Zana glared at him. "Look I know I'm not an 'Oh so powerful Shinobi' like you guys… You don't have to be all pissed off about it, I can't handle it… And… Uh I think I might know where she might be."

"Where?" Itachi asked.

"Well, do you remember that cop that has come to our... I mean, her house a few times? His name's Tom, he's good friends with Annie's dad… But that's not the point. She might be at his house…" Zana trailed off, feeling uncomfortable about the fact that four dangerous criminals were looking at her.

"Okay." Kisame sighed, for once, not glaring at Zana. "Where does he live?"

Zana flushed. "Uh… That's the thing… I don't know where he lives… But I could call Annie to find out."

Xxxxxxx

Before any of knives could pierce her, Annie ducked, one of the blades skimming past her.

She was lucky. Not because she was getting attacked but because her father had taught her how to fight. How convenient, Annie thought. Most teenage girls in real life would not have the fighting experience she had, it was usually only the girls in YA fantasy novels. Maybe she could be like Isabelle Lightwood from _The Mortal Instruments _and take down a few of her attackers, or like Tris from _Divergent. _She cursed herself for thinking of these things at this time, this was not fantasy, this was reality. Her attackers might also be Shinobi as well, which left her little chance of even getting away.

There was screaming from downstairs, Annie panicked, realizing that they might hurt Tom's children as well. Rolling to the side, she stood up, grabbing one of the kunai knives stuck into the wall. She flung it at one of her attackers, who was facing Tom. She didn't dare look to see if she had hit him.

Then gunfire started ringing, Tom had pulled a gun out and was firing at their attackers. A few of their bodies hit the floor, blooding pooling beneath their bodies. Annie screamed at the sight, but one of them had managed to dodge the bullets, running over to Tom.

"TOM!" She screamed. Annie forced herself to move, grabbing another kunai off the ground, forcing herself to ignore the fact that it was covered in blood. She sprang to her feet, flinging herself towards the Shinobi. Before she could drive the knife into him, Tom shot him in the head.

Tom didn't speak, he only ran downstairs where the screams continued. Annie turned to follow him but then her cellphone rang, she picked it up.

"Annie! Where the hell are you?" It was Zana, sounding nervous. "We've all been looking for you."

"GO HOME ZANA!" She yelled. "It's not safe out here, you need to go home!"

Zana was quiet for a moment. "Is everything alright, Annie?"

"Uh… No… Not really… There's people trying to kill me!" Annie hissed, she could hear footsteps approaching the office, she gripped the knife in her hand.

"OH FUCK! Fucking… Shit… Holy shit!" Zana stammered, sounding panicked. "Are you serious?! This is bad. I have Kisame, Itachi, Kakuzu and Mr. psycho-asshole with me. Just tell me the address and we'll be there soon."

Mr. Psycho-asshole? Must have been Hidan, Annie noted. That's when two of the black clothed assassins came into the room, each holding a katana. "1284 DONOVAN DRIVE!" She shrieked into the phone.

Before she could end the call, she was grabbed by her hair and dragged out of the room. Annie cried out in pain, attempting to swing her knife at the assassin but it was grabbed out of her hand, they were much stronger and quicker than her, it seemed. They took her down to the living room, where Tom stood with Charlotte and Ryan, all of them looking pale and afraid. Surrounding them were 6 more of the black clothed assassins, they all had their faces covered in black masks. One of them stepped forward, looking at Annie.

"Are you the one who has the power to see the future?" He asked, his voice scarily calm and soft.

"I…" Annie stuttered, almost too afraid to speak. What would they do? Kidnap her? "Yes… I am."

"Very well," He said, looking at Tom and his two children. "I must say, you looking nothing… Like your parents."

"Don't drag them into this," Annie growled. "I know what you plan on doing, I don't know why you're killing my friends... For money, for justice, I don't know. Just... Let go Tom and his children, don't hurt them."

One of them cocked their head, seeming to be amused at what Annie said. "Whoever said we were killing people for money?"

"It doesn't matter," Annie assumed that the man who spoke first was their leader. "We weren't expecting Annie here, so plans have been changed. Be glad that I have some mercy, therefore, I will make a deal."

He turned towards Annie, walking towards her until he was just inches away from her. "Tom and his children will live. But only on one condition; you must come with us. If you don't, then they will die."

"You would kill a child?!" She gasped, looking at Charlotte and Ryan. "Don't even think about hurting them. I will come with you, if it means that they will be unharmed."

"Annie you can't!" Tom yelled. "What the hell is even going on? Why do you want her?"

_'No I have to do this, if it means that they'll be safe, then I have to...' _Annie knew that she had no other choice, unless the Akatsuki came in time to save her. She hated the idea of waiting to be saved by someone else, but she knew that she had no other choice. For once, she wished for Itachi to be there. She wished that the Akatsuki had never shown up here, she wished for things to go back to normal. But most of all, she wished to live a normal life, not one of danger and death.

"Sir… There's someone coming," one of the Shinobi spoke, a woman it sounded like. Could she sense people coming?

"Stay here and deal with them, I'm taking the girl with me," Their leader spoke; he grabbed Annie by elbow and lead her out of the back door of the house. He held her in an iron grip, dragging her outside. She yelped as he suddenly pushed her forward, tumbling down the wooden steps of the porch. She cried as she hit the pavement, the force of the fall sending a shocking pain throughout her body.

The man walked down the steps, hovering over her. He leaned down and gripped Annie's chin, forcing her to look up at him. "You brought them here, didn't you?" He hissed.

"You might want to clarify who," Annie said coldly, glaring at him.

"Your shinobi friends, who are they?!"

"I wouldn't really consider them friends honestly…"

He growled, picking her up and throwing her onto his shoulder. Then he started running, so fast that Annie thought she might be sick, it was worse when he started jumping the roofs of the houses. She was relieved for a moment, when they stopped in the Filberg grounds. But she knew that her relief would only be short lived, maybe she would die. _'There are worse things than death,' _She tried to reassure herself, but the thought of dying made her more and more afraid.

He dumped her on the ground, at least she fell on grass instead of pavement this time. "W-where are you taking me?"

"To the one who hired me to kill you," He explained, unsheathing his Katana. It gleamed in the moonlight, small splatters of blood still visible on it. Despite the warm air, Annie felt ice cold to her bones, her heart starting to beat faster.

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me. That's why you took me, remember? You said you'd let Tom and his children live if I came with you!"

"I never promised that I would keep them alive," He chuckled, hovering over her. "I especially didn't promise that you would live. It seems that your friends might have gotten through my comrades, so now I have no choice but to kill you."

There was no warning, he raised the sword and swung it down. Annie screamed, throwing her arms out in front of her. Terror overcame her, but there was something else, a spark of courage. Maybe that's what it was.

The pain in her body was replaced with a surging power of energy, about to burst out of her body. The katana flew out of the Shinobis hands and he cried out. "W-what the hell?"

Annie had not realized she had her eyes closed, but when she opened them, she gasped. The katana laid on the ground a few feet away and from her arm, a glowing chain had appeared, wrapped around her captor's arm. She couldn't help but stare, she couldn't speak. A golden aura surrounded the chain, then it seemed to shatter and fade away, only to leave Annie awestruck.

The masked Shinobi stared at her. "You're one of them… One of us… A Shinobi."

"No…" Annie whispered, shocked. "I… I don't even know… What I am."

For a moment they both stood there, Annie remembered the Katana and ran towards it. But he was faster, tackling her to the ground. Raising his hand, he hit her across the face. The force of the impact and his armored gloves made her bleed, she tried to hit him but he hit back, again and again.

He yelled something, but was thrown off her like a rag doll.

Kisame stood over her now, staring down at her. Annie couldn't tell what his expression was because her vision was going blurry, but she assumed that he must have been angry. The world around her seemed to be fading into darkness, Annie fought to stay awake. She heard a sickening crunch sound and her captor was silent, dead.

"Annie…"

"… Annie."

Her name was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Annie."_

_She turned around to see a woman with red hair and blue eyes looking at her. They were by the sea; the blue waves crashing among the shore and behind them were rolling green hills and rocky cliffs. Whether it was a dream or another vision, Annie did not know. She and the stranger faced each other now, standing a few feet apart from each other._

"_Who are you?" Annie asked._

"_You don't know?" The woman said softly. Her hair was a vibrant red, wavy and long. Her eyes were ocean blue, she was very beautiful."You don't remember who I am? Or did they not tell you about me?"_

_Annie was beyond confused, brushing her hair away from her face. "What do you mean?"_

"_Annie…" She reached out to her, holding her hand. There was sadness in her eyes, or sorrow. "I wish for you to know the truth… But I'm afraid it might not be time yet. The right day will come when you will know."_

"_What truth?" _

_But the woman had vanished, leaving Annie alone to ponder her words._

A splitting pain seemed to pierce her head as she woke up, it didn't help that her body still ached from being thrashed around like a rag doll either. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in her room. There were the familiar movie and band posters on the walls, along with her vanity that was scattered with makeup. Annie sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, a bandage had been put onto her head where she was hit last night.

For a few minutes she laid there, thinking about the dream, about the unknown woman who told her about 'the truth'… She wondered what 'The Truth' was and what it meant. There were other strange visions and people in her dream as well. In her dream she saw another woman with the same red hair as her, it was long and almost down to her knees. Beside her was a man with blond hair and in her arms, she held a baby with whisker markings on his cheeks. At one point, she was standing in a cracked, deserted landscape… It was night, but instead of there being a moon, there was large Sharingan shining down the earth. Whatever these visions were, they didn't make sense to Annie… Not yet, anyways.

It was hard to walk but Annie managed, making her way to the vanity and looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was messy and wild, her left eye was swollen bruised and black and blood had seeped through the bandage on her head like a blossom. She still wore the same clothes from yesterday but she didn't care at the moment, all she did was brush her hair and make her way downstairs.

She could hear the T.V. but there was no one in the living room or the dining room. She walked into the kitchen…

"ANNIE!" Someone screamed, running up and attempting to hug her. They were too short and Annie realized that it was Charlotte trying to hug her. She looked up and gawked, surprised at the scene before her.

Tom, who seemed to be fine, was helping Sam and Zana make breakfast. Ryan was sitting by Kakuzu and Hidan at the small table by the window, but his attention seemed to be mostly on Kisame. Maybe he was fascinated by the fact that he looked like a shark. Annie almost wanted scream, the fact that 5 year old and an 8 year old child were in the same room as the Akatsuki was what worried her. Ryan was sitting right by Hidan… _Hidan! _

Everyone looked at Annie, as if she was not supposed to be there… Or awake yet, for that matter. "Annie!" Zana yelled running across the kitchen and hugging her. "Oh my god, are you alright?"

"I-I…" Annie stammered, feeling everyone's eyes on her. "Well, I was nearly kidnapped… Thrown around a few times and almost killed… But other than that I'm fine. By the way, Tom… What are you doing here?"

"Your friends here saved me," Tom explained "Annie… I'll admit… I'm a bit shocked about what's going on. I've been informed about a few things, but I think it would be better if you explained."

Sam seemed nervous. "Pain is not that happy…"

"I don't care what Pain thinks!" Annie snapped. "And don't even act like this is my fault, by the way! My life was fine before these guys decided to come… And then… THINGS JUST GOT WORSE! That guy tried to kill me Tom, and you're letting your son sit beside him? What happened last night… It was scary. So don't even dare pine me with stupid questions, I'm not something you can just keep kicking around. I have feelings too you know. And you know what I'm feeling right? STRESSED, ANGRY AND CONFUSED!"

The whole room was silent, Annie felt her face flush. "I'm sorry, I'm just really stressed and I could use some coffee. Also, I have a very short temper."

"Ryan and Charlotte, go outside. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready," Tom said, ushering them out of the kitchen. When they were gone, he gestured for Annie to sit down. "Sit down, you shouldn't be standing anyways. I'll get you some coffee."

Begrudgingly, she sat down at the table, as far away from the three Akatsuki members as possible. Sam sat down beside her, looking uncomfortable as well. The memories of the night before came back to Annie slowly. The list... The hit list. Going to Tom's house, the Shinobi that broke into the house. She remembered the scarlet blood pooling on the floor as they were shot dead, and the moment her captor had brought his Katana down her, as if to slice in her half.

It disturbed her, but what shocked her more was the strange chain that she seemed to have… Summoned. How could she have done that? What was it exactly?

"How is your head?" Kakuzu asked, as Tom put a cup of coffee in front of Annie. The warm, comforting smell of it settled Annie's nerves; she took a giant swig of it, her head still pounding in pain.

"Ah… Well, it still hurts," She said quietly.

"You might have a concussion that's why, and you had to have stitches on your head as well."

_'Well, thanks for pointing that out' _Annie grunted. "No wonder I feel so shitty."

"If it weren't for them, I don't think we would be alive," Tom explained, Annie was surprised to hear him say this. "After you were taken… Itachi killed the rest of those masked assassins and took us here, along with Sam and Zana."

"Also, if it weren't for me… Annie would have been decapitated by that idiot Shinobi," Kisame chimed in, shooting Annie a look.

"Thank you," Annie said, looking back at Kisame. "I'm grateful for that, I'd like to live a bit longer... Till I'm 40 or 50 at least and because of you, that's possible... Hopefully I won't have someone trying to kill me again."

Tom looked at him, seeming to sense the tension between them. "Annie… They told me briefly about what happened. I hope you don't care to explain more? Especially on your... Uh, powers…"

"Let me guess, you don't believe me? I get it, you don't have to."

"N-no! It's not that…" Tom stuttered. "It's just that's hard to take in… I can understand how hard it must have been for you. Surely, you must understand what it's like for me… "

Annie sighed, she went on to explain everything that had happened. She left out the part about her almost being sacrificed to Hidan of course and the fact that the Akatsuki were criminals, not wanting Tom to freak out at him over it. Tom's expressions the whole time were a mixture of fascination, confusion and shock. When she had finished explaining, he looked at her blankly.

"So you're able to see into the future…" He stated. "Like you can see anything?"

"Not exactly, she's not able to see that far into the future… And if she does get an image, it's usually at random."

It was Itachi who spoke, standing at the doorway of the kitchen with his arms crossed. When Annie looked at him their eyes met, but Annie looked away quickly, staring into her now empty coffee mug instead. _'He doesn't have to speak for me… Or on my behalf… Or whatever,' _She thought bitterly. _'I can explain these things myself.'_

"Yes, unfortunately I'm not like Alice from Twilight," Annie said sarcastically.

Zana nudged her. "Rule #1: Never make any Twilight references! I hate Twilight!"

Tom ignored them, taking a sip of his own coffee. "And you weren't even sure that you could, until now? Your mother and father were convinced it was something else…"

"Or they knew, but are keeping secrets from me," Annie replied coolly. "I mean; they're already super protective of me…"

"I don't think they are. And if they were, maybe it would be for the right reasons."

Annie was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "Lying to protect me. I guess those are the extremes people must go to protect the ones they love."

Tom opened his mouth to say something but then shut it, stiffening slightly. Pain and Konan had walked into the room, both with their eyes on Annie. Everyone was quiet and Annie continued to stare into her coffee cup, who knew a coffee cup could be so interesting to look at in a situation like this? Zana did the same, an attempt to avoid everyone else's gaze.

"Uh, breakfast is almost ready," Sam said cheerfully, or attempted to anyways. "Are you hungry?"

"Not particularly," Pain said blankly. Annie could feel him standing behind her, not too close but close enough to make her feel slightly uncomfortable. "You're awake."

"How nice of you to notice." Annie said, trying not to sound bitter. "I'm not in the mood to get bombarded with questions by the way."

Pain's face remained expressionless. Annie couldn't see it, but he must have been staring at her now "Excuses… Perhaps you could explain what happened last night?"

"Fuck," Annie muttered, slamming the coffee cup on the table, she violently moved the chair around so that she was facing him. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Perhaps we should eat first then talk later," Tom suggested sounding nervous, he grabbed Annie's coffee cup. "More coffee?"

She nodded, trying not to scream or rip her hair out. She hadn't realized just how angry she was and how mentally exhausted she had felt. Pressure, she felt so much pressure, like it was crushing her and Annie couldn't take it anymore.

There was tension in the room even Tom could feel it. "… Breakfast is ready, by the way."

Annie had not realized how hungry she was, for breakfast there was bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns. In the dining room, everyone ate in silence, except for Charlotte and Ryan who were both playing with their cutlery. Tom told them to stop, shushing them as well when they spoke too loudly. Otis sat under the table by her feet, as if waiting for food. Tobi didn't even touch any of his food, maybe it was because he didn't want to take off his mask in front of everyone.

"Where's Laura?" Annie asked, Laura was his wife.

"She'll be back soon," Tom said quietly. "She had to go back to the house to get something… And see some family members, they were worried about what happened."

Annie nodded. "I guess you won't be able to go back to your house for a few days or so… You're welcome to stay here, in the guest house."

The guest house was almost never always occupied, Annie noted. They had many relatives and family members who would come to visit, which is why they had so many spare bedrooms and a guest house as well. A few times a year, many of Annie's relatives would come to visit, usually around Christmas and Easter because they were important 'Religious' holidays. They would play games and have dinner while the adults drank wine and her cousins would play outside, or hang out in the library. Despite having a large family, Annie had always felt left out, as if she didn't belong there…

"I talked to your father by the way…" Tom said, looking away from her.

Annie froze; feeling uneasy at Tom's words. "You didn't tell him did you…"

"Tell him what, hm?" Deidara asked. "What you won't tell us?"

"Shut up!" Annie hissed, she groaned as Tom, for the second time that morning, had to tell Ryan and Charlotte to go outside.

"Is this about the hit list?" Tom asked. "I don't understand why it bothers you all so much. Annie was afraid which is why she came to me."

"Well, she should have come to us first," Kisame explained. "Especially considering these people that tried to kill her were Shinobi. And what did she say? 'There's no such thing as Shinobi in this world' something along those lines."

Zana snapped at him. "Maybe she didn't know, for God's sake!"

"This isn't about you or Sam," Pain said. "This is about Annie and what happened last night."

Annie could feel her cheeks burning; her knuckles were white from clenching her hands so hard, her eyes starting to water. She forced herself not to cry _'Just walk away from this.' _She thought, but she couldn't move. Could only sit there and try not to lose her temper.

"Did you know beforehand that you would get that list?" Pain asked.

"Honestly, I did not know," Annie rolled her eyes. "It came as a complete shock to me."

"I hope so. These Shinobi are not just your problem but our problem as well, they could be trying to track us down too. Considering that we're supposed to be dead…"

Tom raised his eyebrows. "Why would they be looking for you?"

'_Don't freaking tell them, don't tell…' _Annie wanted to yell, but it would have been pointless. It seemed that the Akatsuki had not mentioned the fact that they were criminals to Tom. Which is good, because considering Tom was a Cop, he would definitely not take it that well.

"Because they're very powerful Shinobi," Annie blurted out, hoping that Tom would believe her lie. "That's what Shinobi do, they track more other Shinobi down for money. The more powerful they are, the more they're worth."

"Oh… Interesting…" Tom said quietly, Annie tried to ignore the strange looks the Akatsuki were giving her.

Pain looked back at Annie. "What else do you know about us?"

"Um, what?" Annie was taken aback by the question, circling her finger around the rim of her coffee mug.

"I've been told that you know more about us, Zetsu heard you say some things…"

"Great, so you've been eavesdropping on us. Don't seem to respect the fact that I like privacy sometimes."

"This is not about your privacy. This is about your powers and how they may help us in getting back to our world."

Annie's voice raised to a shout "I'm 17 year old teenage girl, I live an ordinary life in an ordinary town. I go to school five days a week, the only things I have good knowledge about is art, science, English and History… I have over protective parents that barely let me do anything, which sucks by the way! I would like to have a NORMAL life… Yet you seem to think there's something extraordinary about me and are trying to tear that away from me. I don't know why I can do what I can do and it freaks me out sometimes, because I've never had to deal with this before. I don't expect you to understand this at well, because you all seem to shallow minded to or too fucking stubborn to anyways."

"Why does that matter?" Pain said coldly.

Annie had enough. She didn't remember being so angry in her life, but now, she was not angry, she was enraged. She almost the knocked the chair over as she stood up, she picked up her empty coffee mug and whipped it at Pain, he dodged it by simply tilting his head to the side. The mug hit the vase that was standing on the small table on the other side of the room and as the mug hit, the vase also shattered, glass littering the floor.

"Annie Harker!" Tom shouted."That-"

"Why does it matter?!" Annie shrieked. "Nothing matters to you… You dumb bastard! You don't care about anything at all, just because you lost your parents in a war and then became an orphan and lost everything that doesn't mean you shouldn't care! Then you go around destroying everything and killing everyone in the name of peace, just because the loss of your parents and your friend had seemed to define that is what peace meant… At least you came to your damn senses right before you sacrificed yourself for a village you despised. You should have just stayed dead!

Without looking at him or the reset of the Akatsuki, she ran out of the room, Tom yelled at her but she ignored him. Slamming the door to her room shut, she looked for something to block the door. She decided on her small white dresser, since it wasn't too heavy and wouldn't take much time to put in front of the door.

Annie tried to think of what of to do, but her mind was racing with so many thoughts and she was too tired to do anything else. The pressure and stress she was feeling earlier didn't feel like it was crushing her anymore, but more like it was consuming her, it was too much.

Crumpling to the ground, Annie buried her head in her arms and sobbed.


	12. For The Sake Of Peace

**Yay, new chapter finally! Also, all the previous chapters have been edited! Check them out and tell me what you think!**

**Also, please don't ask me why it took me forever to put this chapter up...**

* * *

Chapter 11: For The Sake Of Peace

"_You should have just stayed dead!"_

The words echoed in Itachi's mind, repeating themselves over and over again. Thinking about what Annie said seemed to send a chill down his spine. It had been a long time since he felt that, a long time since he had felt_ something_ without forcing himself to.

Maybe it was because what she said was the truth.

"_You should have stayed dead!"_

Maybe Annie didn't realize it, but her words spoke that bitter truth, maybe she didn't intend to say it. But she did. None of them, the Akatsuki deserved to live, they didn't deserve a second chance at life.

Especially not him, not Itachi Uchiha. So why was he even alive? He had died, he even had welcomed death. Or so he thought, when he woke up in the forest, he thought for sure he was dreaming.

Frowning, he stood up as he heard someone approaching. Konan glanced at him, expressionless, as she walked silently towards him. She wore no cloak, instead she wore a long, revealing, navy blue robe, it had a slit up at the front up to her belly button and was backless, exposing her back and arms. It was appropriate for the weather, since it was too hot for any of them to don the Akatsuki cloaks they usually wore.

She inclined her head towards a path. "This way…"

Silently, Itachi followed her, looking around at his surroundings as they walked. A part of him was worried that someone might be following, but at the same time, he had his doubts.

Konan stopped in front of a large tree; it loomed over them like a tower. In front of them, it started to shed pieces of paper like dead petals falling from a flower. As the papers floated away, an entrance was revealed. Konan stepped through, Itachi following her.

It was dark inside, but as Itachi entered, the first thing he saw was a man… No, six of them, standing before him. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he noticed that five of the had the same orange hair as Pain, along with his strange piercings and of course, the same Rinnegan.

There was only one who didn't have the same orange hair and piercings. While he had the Rinnegan, his hair was red, which stood out against his pale white skin. He did not look healthy, Itachi noted, his cheek bones seemed to just out from his thin face and his hands were bony.

"Itachi Uchiha," He spoke softly, stepping towards him.

"Nagato…" Konan reached out to him, as if he would fall.

"It's okay, Konan," Nagato said brushing her hand away. "My health… Seems to be better. Though I'll admit, it's been awhile since I've actually walked."

The pieces started to fit themselves together, as Itachi observed them."You're the 'Real' Pain… Nagato Uzumaki."

Nagato looked at him. "That much is true, though I figured it wouldn't take long for you to figure it out Itachi. In all honesty, I didn't know that I'm a descendant of the Uzumaki clan."

Of course, it didn't take Itachi a long time to figure it out, he was called a genius after all. While he never interfered with Pain's personal business, he always knew that something was off about him. He wasn't the only to notice though; it didn't take a genius to notice these things.

He found himself thinking of the Uzumaki clan, of its known members and it's descendants he had met. There was Mito Uzumaki, the first Hokage's wife and the first host of the nine tailed fox. Kushina Uzumaki was the next host of the nine tailed fox and most notably, Naruto Uzumaki's mother and Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage's wife. Itachi had only met her a few times, but she had made such an impression, that she was hard to forget. Sassy, stubborn, short tempered and impulsive, her son had inherited some of these traits. Kushina was also beautiful, her red hair went down to her knees and her eyes were a deep violet colour.

Though it was a distant memory, Itachi remembered meeting two other Uzumakis as well, but he couldn't remember their names. A boy about his age with the same red hair and a beautiful woman, with curly red hair and ocean blue eyes. Maybe, they were son and daughter, but he couldn't remember.

"They were a very powerful clan," Itachi noted. "Their village, Uzushiogakure was destroyed during the Shinobi world wars. Many of them were killed, because they were feared to be too powerful and dangerous. There were survivors though and those survived fled to different countries, mostly going into hiding…"

"I've heard that the descendants of the surviving Uzumaki are still being tracked down and killed," Konan said quietly, but she shook her head. "Except it could just be a rumour."

'_But it could also be true,' _Itachi thought. _'The same can't really be said about the Uchiha though…'_

Nagato sighed. "As much as I would like to talk about the Uzumaki clan… That's not why we're here."

"It's because of Annie, isn't it?" Said Itachi. "What you said to her this morning… Is that because of Madara?"

"If I could, I wouldn't have pressured her so much," Nagato explained, then he frowned. "It seems Madara wants us to break her and then build her up again, but as a different person. As someone who would go along with his plans."

Itachi clenched his hands then unclenched them. "I never got a chance to ask you before… But why do you suddenly disagree with his plan?"

There was silence, Nagato and Konan looked at each other. They looked at each other as if speaking to one another without actually saying anything. "It was because of Naruto Uzumaki." Nagato finally said, looking back at Itachi with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

'_Of course it was.'_

"Perhaps, we have something in common, Itachi. We both want peace, for you, you want Konoha to remain unharmed."

Itachi froze, clenching his fists again. Nagato wasn't supposed to know that, the truth of the Uchiha slaughter. No one was supposed to know and there was only one other person who knew the truth.

Madara knew and he told Nagato.

"Madara told you the truth, didn't he?" Itachi said bitterly. "No one was supposed to know."

Nagato nodded. "He told me everything about what you did. I don't know why he would tell us, maybe because he wanted us to think of you not being loyal to the Akatsuki's cause."

"I was never loyal to the Akatsuki's cause," He tried to speak steadily, but he was becoming angry. "I acted like I did, but my interests were elsewhere."

"Like your brother," Nagato said softly. "You wanted to protect your brother."

_Sasuke. _The mention of his brother sent a wave of emotions over him, he didn't want think that he had failed him. _Sasuke, little brother… _When he was just a newborn baby, and Itachi had first held him in his arms. When he'd come home from and Sasuke would be there, waiting for him. The instant he first saw Itachi, he would run up to him, asking him to help train him. _'Sorry Sasuke, maybe some other time…' _

'_Sorry Sasuke… It ends with this.'_ Those were the last words to his brother before he died.

"I understand…" Nagato said. "We do whatever we can to protect the ones we love, even if it means to do the wrong thing. I used to hate Konoha, I despised their Shinobi. For their Shinobi had killed the people I cared for, this is why I held a grudge against them for so long."

Itachi looked at him. He was not like Pain, not like him at all. There were so many emotions in his eyes alone, grief and sadness. "What changed you then?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Pain smiled slightly. He looked at Konan, and she only nodded, as if giving him permission to continue. "Now let me tell you the truth Itachi, about me and Konan, about the Akatsuki's real purpose."

'_The Akatsuki's real purpose,' _But what real purpose? The Akatsuki's true purpose, it's goal… It must have been much different than what Madara wanted. "Very well," Itachi said softly. "Tell me…"

* * *

The shower water was warm. Very warm, on the brink of being almost too hot, but Annie could care less at the moment. Grabbing her conditioner, she squeezed some into her hand and massaged it through her hair. Once she was done in the shower, she stepped out and looked at herself in the mirror.

Surprisingly, it was easier than expected to get the brown hair dye out of her hair. When she first dyed it, her mother bought her a box of _Color Oops_, a hair color remover. In case she changed her mind about her hair, or decided to go back to her natural hair color. No, her mother hated her brown hair, so she wanted her to go back to her natural color.

"The brown doesn't suit you!" She had said, much to Annie's annoyance.

So now she stood here and for once, she had to admit that her mother was right. Though her hair was darker since it was wet, it brought out her green eyes more, especially since her eyelashes were the same color as her hair. Her ivory skin was not sprinkled with any freckles, which Annie found strange. Didn't almost all red heads have freckles?

A knock sounded at her bedroom door, snapping her out of her thoughts. "One moment, I just got out of the shower!" She hollered.

Hastily, she ran into her closet, throwing her towel onto the ground and looking for something to wear. Deciding on distressed denim shorts and a floral v-neck T-shirt, she walked to her door, swinging it open.

Kakuzu stood there, he was about to say something but paused, staring at Annie. For a moment, he just stared at her and Annie wondered if maybe it was because of her hair. But he was looking her up and down, as if she was some rare creature.

"Hi, Kakuzu," She said slowly. "What do you want?"

Kakuzu was silent before speaking. "You weren't supposed to take the bandage off your head."

"Well, you never told me not to. Besides, I had to take it off before I went into the shower."

"I have to check it anyways," He shrugged, walking into the room. "Go sit down."

Hesitantly, she went and sat down on the edge of her bed as he pulled out some ointments and bandages from his pouch. He was not wearing his usual mask and hat, Annie noticed; his long dark brown hair was tied up in a low bun, there were stitches on each side of his mouth and along his bare arms as well. Annie touched her cheek, where Hidan had sliced it with his stake. Surprisingly, the cut was almost fully healed and the bruise on her eye was almost gone. Then again, she now had another bruise on her face and stitches from the night before.

Kakuzu lifted her chin so that she was looking up at him; he took a small white cloth and started to gently wipe the cut on her head. "It's already starting to heal." He noted.

"I heal quite fast, apparently," Annie explained, as he now put some ointment on it. "I… Don't know why."

There was a sudden scream from downstairs, making Annie freeze in terror. "What was that?!"

"Nothing," Kakuzu said sharply. He put a white bandage on top of her stitches, pressing it down gently so that it would stay. "You… Should probably lie down for a bit."

He left the room without saying anything else, closing the door quietly behind him. Annie flopped down onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted, as if all the energy had been drained from her body. She felt so weak, so fragile as if she was porcelain; she hated feeling like this, like she was so easy to break. No matter how much she tried to force herself not to think of _him_… She kept thinking of Itachi, of the times he had saved her life. _'I have tell him eventually… No I should tell him soon,' _She stared up at the ceiling, her hands laid on top of her belly. _'Maybe I should tell him today.'_

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Annie only had one goal in mind and that was to find Itachi.

* * *

"My choice to trust Madara, to put my faith into his hands…. It was a mistake." Nagato shook his head. "If I had only chosen the right path, it wouldn't have come to this."

Itachi crossed his arms, observing the Uzumaki man. He no longer saw a man who was hell bent on controlling the world, but a man who wanted nothing more but peace. It was funny how his perspective of him had seemed to change so quickly, after he had told him of his past. "He told me about what you did to Konoha… About Naruto and how you sacrificed your life to save everyone in that village. "

'_He laid down his own life for my village…' _He thought, sadly. But he was glad, more than anything, that the village was safe.

"Everything I had done up until now, for the sake of peace… It was wrong, it was a lie." Nagato spoke, his voice more soft than before. "I thought that if everyone had experienced the suffering and pain I endured, they would know that piece is unachievable… That it was a lie and that all hope was false. Naruto changed that. He made me believe again that we could change the world, that we could bring peace."

"… Which is not what Madara wants," Konan explained. Itachi couldn't help but notice that whenever Yahiko's name was mentioned, Konan would stiffen. As if the very sound of his name was a twist of a knife into her soul. "Madara wishes for nothing but control and destruction. Besides, he only ever wanted Nagato's rinnegan."

"So then, why tell me this?" Itachi asked. "Why trust me with this information?"

Nagato looked at him then, with an expression of pity. "Because you're not like the rest of the Akatsuki; they are criminals, they have nothing to fight for, to die for… And a so called genius like you would never trust a man like Madara…"

"I never did trust him," Itachi explained. "So what you're saying is… You want to betray him?"

"In due time, yes…" Said Nagato, his expression turning serious. "… Or now."

Itachi was silent, observing both Konan and Nagato. Both of these people had suffered like him, done terrible things and made painful sacrifices, like him. He always noticed that Pain and Kona seemed close, now he knew why. "What is your plan?"

"Madara is most likely going to make you use your sharingan to get information out of Annie." Nagato said. "Among other things, he's not concerned about Annie's well-being, he just wants her for the war."

Annie… Annie Harker, who was she exactly? Itachi observed her, from the way she talked to the way she would play with her hair when she was bored. He couldn't imagine her succumbing to Madara's plan, she would do whatever she could to rebel against him. Annie was stubborn, it seemed, very stubborn. But even she couldn't escape Madara Uchiha.

A sickness grew inside of him at the thought of using his Sharingan on Annie. A sick yet tender feeling that he had not felt for a long time. He then thought of Sasuke again, the one who had always seemed to occupy his thoughts. What he had done for the sake of his brother, to protect him- they were unspeakable and horrific. Now he had a different choice to either do the right thing or the wrong thing. But what really was right and wrong? To him, it was simply just a choice.

"Very well," Itachi said, "I suppose I can trust you. What will you say to the rest of them?"

"It's not the right time to say anything since some might be more loyal to Madara and his cause…" Explained Konan, seeming to wince at the mention of his name.

Itachi only nodded, turning to leave. But he paused, turning back to Konan and Nagato. "I have one last question."

Neither of them spoke, they only seemed to wait for him to speak again. "What more did Madara tell you about me?"

"Only what we needed to know," Nagato said softly.

* * *

Shortly after Kakuzu left, Annie put on her black and white, high top Vans. Walking over to the window, she opened it and peered outside.

It was not a far fall, not at all. She knew this because she was not terrified of heights and because she had climbed out, or jumped, out of this window before. It was about a 20 foot fall and just below the window, were a few trimmed hedges that had always helped to soften the fall. Annie had always had a curfew, but that did not prevent her from sneaking out of her house late at night.

So why, in the middle of the day was she doing this? This was her best chance to avoid the Akatsuki, she concluded. It was not that she was avoiding Itachi, _he _was actually the one that she was looking for. Maybe he would most likely be outside; he tended to not be around the rest of the Akatsuki where they usually were, in the living room.

She slid the window open, throwing one leg over and pressing her foot onto the sill outside of it. God, she must have looked stupid right now, attempting to escape her own house…

A deep, cool voice spoke out from below the window, making Annie freeze and almost lose her footing. "Nice try… But I don't think that you're going to get away like that."

'_Kisame… That damn bastard.' _Annie gritted her teeth, glaring down at the blue skinned Shinobi. He looked up at her with amusement, not just that, but also with some sort of cockiness, that Annie despised.

"Oh shoot! I have been caught!" Annie cried out in sarcastic exasperation. "I am doomed, now I must wait for my handsome prince charming to come and save me!"

"Then save yourself."

"I was being sarcastic." Without a moment of hesitation, she jumped from the window sill, landing not so gracefully in the bush below. Untangling herself from the shrubbery, she stood up in front of Kisame, with her hands on her hips.

He laughed dryly, but then abruptly stopped, as he looked at her, observing her very closely. "Your hair…"

"-Yes." She cut him off. "This is my natural hair color. Go ahead and call me some stupid nick name, Kisame Hoshigaki."

"You'd probably shoot me back with a rude comment about my skin color." He pointed out.

Annie quirked an eyebrow, suddenly curious. "Maybe… Why, are you insecure about it?"

"No," He said, coolly. "Not like you're insecure about your hair."

"Yes, I am… Or rather was," Said Annie, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. How dare Kisame point out her insecurity about her hair! To most people it might not have been a big deal, but to her it was. Despite feeling embarrassed, she spoke again, "But I am learning to accept it. Better to accept something that makes me unique then to hide it, by covering it up."

"That and you can see the future…" He mentioned.

"Oh, how cute of you to point that out!" Annie threw her hands up in exasperation. "I almost forgot that seeing the future makes me unique. That and my sarcastic wit."

Kisame rolled his eyes. "You're dramatic."

"Ah, I see how it is. You're going to point out all my flaws and bad habits. I've always wondered why people do that. Do you know why? Because when someone points out all your flaws, it makes them feel better about themselves. As if tearing someone apart makes them feel whole, or superior. Everyone has flaws and insecurities, because that's just human nature. We are not perfect human beings… Our flaws and insecurities aren't just physical, but mental, as well within our personalities. But you know what? They do not define us."

"Well, you're certainly not stupid," Said Kisame. "But still annoying."

She groaned. "You are so damn unpleasant to be around. _Kisame, what the hell do you want from me?_"

"We are supposed to patrol the house. So when I saw you about to jump from the window, I thought I would ask why." Kisame explained. "It made me wonder where you were going…"

"Sorry to break it to you… But I'm not going to my evil lair to continue my plan of taking over the world, as fun as that sounds to someone like you. And I doubt that you're out here to find out where I'm going, you're here to harass me because of what happened yesterday… You know, how I know about your past and all that."

At her words, Kisame clenched his jaw, looking down at her sharply. "That… You should have told us. Not kept it to yourself, especially since you seem to know more than that."

"Like I said," She hissed. "I'm not going to tell everything I know about you to the world Kisame, so what if I know more? Maybe I do, I just choose not to say anything because I don't trust you, maybe I can't trust someone like you. Besides, I don't where your loyalty lies."

"_Loyalties?" _He snapped, anger flashing in his eyes. He looked even angrier; probably the most angry Annie had ever seen him. "Don't tell-"

"Kisame." A familiar voice spoke, and when they turned to see who it was, it was Itachi. He stood behind Kisame, a warning look in his dark eyes. His eyes met his and for a moment, they stood there looking at each other, as if silently communicating without words.

Annie cleared her throat, feeling awkward. Then Kisame and Itachi were both looking at her and she jammed her hands into her pockets. "Well… Uh… Good thing you showed up Itachi. Kisame here was making me feel quite nervous."

"Perhaps you should watch your mouth then." Itachi said, not taking his eyes off her, even as she looked away uncomfortably.

"No thanks," Annie huffed, brushing her hair back.

Kisame looked at her sharply again. "Do you not have any idea who you are dealing with?"

"Kisame, leave." Said Itachi.

Without another word to him, Kisame turned around and made his back to the front door of the house. But he paused right beside Annie, leaning down he whispered something into her ear. She only shuddered as he walked away, deciding that she would never try to anger Kisame Hoshigaki again.

"What did he say to you?" Itachi asked.

"'The next time you try to piss me off, I'll cut your tongue out then I'll rip that red hair out of your scalp until you scream in complete agony.'" Annie said, feeling sick at the thought. "You're right; maybe I should watch my mouth."

"He didn't mean it," Itachi reassured, moving closer to her.

She looked at him, speaking slowly. "No he did. Everyone here wants me dead or tortured… What happened last night, it opened my eyes. I don't think you would understand what I am going through right now, Itachi."

He stood right in front of her now, still looking at her but his expression softened. Was there sympathy in his eyes? Maybe he would understand what she was going through. "Up until now, I thought I had a normal life," She whispered. "I mean I have a normal family, I just thought… No I wanted to believe that these visions that I was having were just some weird kind of disease… But they're not. They're really some weird power that I was born with and I don't know why I have them or how I got them. Everyone expects me to know how to control them and why I have them, but I don't know… I don't really even know who I am anymore."

"I believe you." He said, those words seemed to relieve the tension inside of Annie. "You're confused; I understand what you're saying."

"And I am glad you do. I mean Sam and Zana might understand… But not fully." Annie muttered. "There is something… I must tell you."

Still he looked at her, with that same strange look he always seemed to have. But it was different this time; he didn't say anything, so she spoke again. "I can't tell you here though, they're watching us… And I'd rather tell you in private… You said it yourself, that I can trust you… And maybe I can."

"Follow me," He spoke softly, grabbing her by the elbow and leading her out of the gateway of her home. Annie only nodded, following him.

Down the road from her house, between two of the other houses, there was a path to the forest. Usually, to get to the forest, she would go from her backyard, but she was glad that Itachi was leading her this way instead. If they had gone into the forest from her backyard, the rest of the Akatsuki would think it was strange, or probably suspicious.

They were both silent as they walked, Annie walked behind Itachi, staring at the path ahead of them. It was hot again today, not unusual since it was July now, the time of year where it tended to get the hottest outside. She had never been too fond of summer; Autumn was her favorite season, though she didn't mind the Summer heat. But there was something comforting about fall time, the fallen leaves, the weather was not too cold yet not too hot, it was a perfect in between. Her grandmother, Cordelia, used to always knit her sweaters for fall and winter then sent them to her. Annie had never worn them, but when her Grandmother passed away, she kept them and had even worn them sometimes during the winter.

A few minutes had passed, but then Annie had almost walked right into Itachi as he stopped in front of her. Now they were by a small river, its clear waters flowing over jagged rocks, the sound of it had always been relaxing to Annie's ears, but even now, it didn't relax her. She felt anxious and most of all, scared and confused.

Itachi turned to face her, at first his eyes scanning the area. "What did you want to tell me?"

"The day that you first came here…" Annie said softly, not meeting his gaze. Instead she stared down at her hands, which were clutched in front of her, her knuckles smooth and white. "You told me that you wondered how I knew your name…"

"I do still wonder that."

Annie took a deep breath, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I had my first vision when I was about 6 years old… It just came to me like a dream. I was too young to understand what had happened in my dream, or my vision. It was you… You were in my first vision… Along with another boy, you're brother."

The mention of his brother made Itachi tense, his jaw clenching, but she looked away from him. "From then on… I always had visions of you, but I didn't know your name… I knew your younger brother's name; I knew who Shisui was… But for some reason, whenever someone tried to mention your name… Their voice would just cut off. I saw the attack on Konoha, the nine-tailed fox, I saw it all…"

Itachi cut her off, his voice soft. "You saw me murder my clan."

"Y-yes," Annie choked, looking at him. "I saw that too."

"… And yet, despite that, you want to trust me?"

"What other choice do I have…?" Annie said miserably. She sunk down on the ground, against a nearby tree. "I… Can't think of anything else to do, but to trust you."

He knelt down in front of her, looking out at the river. "What else have you seen, in your visions?"

"Your brother," She whispered, it was not what she meant to say but the words had already slipped out of her mouth. "He is lost… I've seen Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura… I saw all the Akatsuki die, saw Sasuke kill Danzo… So many things… And I don't know what to do with it, there's more I could tell you…"

"Don't." Said Itachi. "It might only make things worse. I can see that you're feeling tense, try not to think about it."

She shook her head. "But I think about it all the time. It's hard when you have this… This power…"

"The Akatsuki want it."

"No, Madara Uchiha wants it."

Itachi's eyes widened, he opened his mouth to say something but then snapped it shut. Annie sighed. "Right I'm not supposed to know that…"

"No," He said. "You're not."

"Look, I'll help you… The Akatsuki," Annie said softly, biting her lip. "On one condition."

"One condition…"

Annie took a deep breath. "I want to be trained as a Shinobi… Not just so I can prove that I'm strong, but that I can protect the ones I care about."

"That…" Itachi frowned, staring at her, his jaw set. "I mean, it's not easy becoming a Shinobi. It's hard."

"Nothing in life is easy." Annie explained, crossing her arms. "Never mind Itachi, forget it. You're going to give me a billion reasons why I shouldn' t become a Shinobi. It was a waste of effort…"

She was about to stand up, but he grabbed her hand. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh for the love of god-"

"I'll train you." He explained. Annie felt her heart leap in her chest of excitement… Or was it fear? She knew that training to be a Shinobi wouldn't be easy, but she was excited to learn. "I was trying to explain to you that it wouldn't be easy to learn… Especially at your age. We learn from a very young age, since you're a bit older, it might be harder."

"I'm up for the challenge." Said Annie. "Besides, I don't mind having you as my teacher. If Kisame was the one training me, he would skin me and then feed me to his pet sharks."

Itachi's lips quirked, as if he was about to smile but then he turned away from her. Annie swore that he saw him smile but when he turned to face her again, his face was expressionless. "Then it's settled, I suppose."

"Thank you, Itachi." Annie murmured, straightening her back. A somewhat awkward silence (at least it seemed awkward) fell between them, Itachi staring out at the river.

He stood up, his dark eyes reflecting the shimmering waters of the river. He was so beautiful, that Annie hated herself for thinking that he was. "We should go back." He stated.

Annie only nodded; feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt lighter, more relieved. Standing up, she brushed the dirt off her shorts and legs, following Itachi up the path that they came. But as they walked, she paused as she saw a flicker of movement in the shadow of the trees. _'No, it's nothing… Or I must have just imagined it.' _She shook the thought away and made her way back home.

* * *

"Fuck, he's ugly," Hidan pointed out, glaring at the T.V.

Sam raised an eyebrow. She was not currently paying attention to the T.V. but drawing in her sketchbook. "Who?" She asked.

"Stephen Harper." Kisame replied blankly. "I do have to admit, Canadian and American politics are boring."

Zana was currently sitting beside Sam, and she shot Kisame a glare. She opened her mouth to say something, but Sam slapped her hand over it. "No," Sam snapped, ignoring Zana's muffled cries. "Don't get all snappy at him. You know it won't do well for you."

"Well…" Kisame smirked. "At least one of you has sense."

Tom walked into the room, clearly tensed. Because of what had happened last night, he and his wife would have to take a few days off from work. Sam couldn't help but feel bad for him, now he was dragged into this current and confusing situation; a situation where people from a different world were hopefully, temporarily living in your home. To Annie and Sam's surprise, none of the Akatsuki had told Tom and his wife that they were criminals, maybe they hadn't told them because they were cops. That didn't help much though; Tom and Laura were both still very on edge about what had happened the night before.

"Can we turn off the news please?" Tom asked, taking a sip of his fourth cup of coffee. Fourth or fifth? Sam wasn't sure; she just knew that like Annie and her father, he drank a lot of coffee.

Sam switched the channel, opting for _What Not To Wear _on _TLC _instead. Zana sniffed. "God, really, this show? It's so stupid."

"I have some good news," Tom announced, sitting on the couch next to Hidan. "It looks like in the next couple of days me and the kids will get to go back home. They've found nothing of interest in the house, so the investigation will end soon."

"Where are the kids?" Sam asked.

"Sleeping, they were exhausted and needed a nap… Though poor Charlotte was having nightmares…" Tom sighed.

The phone rang then and everyone was silent, all except Hidan of course, who was ranting about politics and Religion… Or something along the lines. Sam turned the volume down on the T.V. as Tom walked back into the living room, holding the phone to his ear.

"Robert…" He said softly. "How are you doing?"

Sam stiffened slightly and Zana did the same. They both looked at each other, worry and panic reflected in both of their expressions. For a few minutes, Tom chatted with Robert casually over the phone. Annie's father was starting to feel better, even though he wouldn't be discharged from the hospital till the end of the month. There was also no other news on the accident in Halifax, investigators had found nothing else apparently.

Then, the conversation turned for the worst.

Robert must have asked Tom how things were going at home, for Tom stiffened. "Ah… U-uh… Things are crazy here Robert. Absolutely crazy-"

In a moment of panic, Sam had accidentally whipped the remote across the room, almost hitting Hidan in the face. She waved her arms frantically at Tom as if to tell him to stop. 'NO, DON'T SAY ANYTHING.' She mouthed, but it was already too late.

"You mean she_ hasn't _told you?!" Tom gasped, his eyes widening as he looked at both Zana and Sam. It was as if he expected an explanation from them, but Sam couldn't think of anything to say herself.

Without another look towards them, Tom started to explain to Annie's father all of what had happened; the way that Annie had explained it herself. As he talked, Sam sank down into the couch, starting to feel sick. Zana just sat there, frozen in fear as Kisame, Hidan and Deidara looked at both of them with amusement and confusion.

It was over, they would have to face the fury of Robert Harker, Annie's father. Sam had seen him angry once and wished to never have seen it again.

Deidara had leaned over to her and whispered. "Annie's Dad doesn't know about… Us?"

"No, we haven't told him yet," Sam whispered back and when Deidara looked at her quizzically, she sighed. "He would lose it if he found out about this… I mean, he's going to lose it. And he would probably ground Annie for life."

Deidara only snickered, but Tom shot him a dangerous look and he shut up. Then he hung up the phone, looking at Sam and Zana with a confused and infuriated expression. It made Sam feel more sick, and she sunk down further into the couch as if she could disappear.

"Where is Annie?" Tom asked.

"I'm right here."

Sam turned around, having to take a double take as she looked at Annie. Itachi stood beside her, but her hair was now fiery red. Sam had seen Annie with red hair before, when they were young. But now that she was older and her hair had been brown for quite some time, it still surprised her.

Seeming to sense the tension in the room, Annie bit her lip. "What's going on?"

"Annie," Tom spoke sternly, but had seemed to be trying his best to not lash out at Annie. "Why did you not tell your father about… The ninjas living in your home?"

"YOU TOLD HIM?!" Annie shrieked, pushing Itachi aside as she walked over to Tom. "HE'S GOING TO KILL ME-"

"He wants to but he won't because you're his daughter! But you should be honest with him!"

Itachi watched them for a second and then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, can I say something?"

"What?!" Tom snapped, but Annie shot him a look and he spoke a bit more gently. "Go ahead, Itachi."

"From what I know about what happened to Annie's father…" Itachi explained calmly. "He was in a tragic accident, so I'm sure he must be under a lot of stress right now. Especially because he's not with his family, his wife is away and he presumed Annie is here by herself… Unprotected. Of course, all of these things could add up to putting a lot of stress on a man like him, especially since his job is hard as well. I think Annie didn't want to tell him because she didn't want him to get more stressed out. She understands that her father is in a hard place at the moment and she didn't want to place any more burdens on him."

Everyone was silent after he spoke, letting his words sink in. Annie looked at Itachi with a surprised expression mixed with what seemed to be admiration. Even Sam had to admit that what Itachi said was good, but the rest of the Akatsuki members in the room seemed surprised by what he said.

"You see?!" Annie wailed, gesturing at Itachi. "He understands! That's why I didn't want to tell Dad this! I mean, look at what happened last night Tom!"

"I know, I know," Tom sighed. "But you should have told him sooner. I know it would have put a lot more stress on him-"

Kisame cut him off, looking more annoyed since Annie walked into the room. "So what's he going to do, kick us out?"

"No, he's going to give you a good spanking and then put a soother in your mouth," Said Annie. "Then he'll ground you for life."

Sam couldn't help but snicker, beside her; Zana choked on her coffee and was now doubled over, coughing loudly. Leave it up to Annie to say a sarcastic comment in a serious conversation. Itachi turned away, but not before Sam could see the smile on his face, his shoulders shaking. Was he laughing?

Kisame opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Pain walked into the room, followed by Konan. It was strange how their presence suddenly made everyone become dead quiet, Sam thought that if they were here, it must have been important.

"Oh, Pain and Konan, Perfect timing!" Annie exclaimed, clearly trying her hardest to ignore Kisame's frightening glare. Zana now sat upright, her face and her eyes watery.

"Annie…" Pain said blankly, observing her from across the room. "… And Tom, you're still here."

"For a few more days only." Tom explained, shifting his seat. He did not look comfortable around the Akatsuki leader.

"Very well," Pain spoke. "Everyone upstairs, we're going to have a meeting."

* * *

**There it is! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please read and review!**


	13. The Man Who Can't Be Moved

**Blah, I have been so slow with the chapter updates... I was trying to update at least once a week... But I don't think that's possible, haha. **

**ALSO, there's some sexual themes in this chapter. Not like that's a bad thing, but I'm just warning you guys!**

* * *

Chapter 12: The Man Who Can't Be Moved

The last meeting that the Akatsuki had been a disaster. Well, not a disaster but it didn't go over well. This time, Annie tried her best not to stutter as she spoke, to sit straight and not keep her head down as everyone looked at her as she spoke. She sat on the piano bench; it had offered some kind of comfort and acted as some kind of shield for her as she spoke to the Akatsuki. She sat sideways on the bench, her legs on either side of it, fiddling with the golden dragon ring she wore on her middle finger.

Her words had come out in a rush, all at once, seeming to flow together. She didn't really think about what she was saying, maybe she didn't need to. She told them all about her visions, leaving out the part about Madara Uchiha. For some reason, she told them about the car crash and how she had found no one in the driver's seat; only the golden dragon ring.

When she was done speaking, everyone in the room was looking at her still. With expressions of awe and bewilderment, of disbelief and confusion.

Pain looked out the window, thoughtfully. "And you were having these visions since you were 6 years old?"

"Yes," Annie sighed. "I have."

"Annie," Konan said, walking over to her and standing beside her. "Can I ask you something? You might not like the question though…"

"Sure, go ahead and ask."

"Well, it's more than one… It's a few, regarding your family history." Konan explained. "Maybe… Do you think your family is hiding anything from you?"

Annie looked down at the ring in her hand. She was glad Tom wasn't here to hear what Konan had said. "No… I don't want to believe that. My family loves me, I… Don't know why they would hide anything from me. Do you think that?"

"No. It's just what I was wondering. Your ability is very unique, we had thought you had inherited your powers-"

"Let me guess… You thought I had 'inherited' my powers from my 'real' parents who were Shinobi… And they died or disappeared, so then I was adopted… That is what you're saying, right?"

Konan pursed her lips, hesitantly; she put a hand on Annie's shoulder. "No, I am not saying that… I'm not sure; I was wondering if you had any suspicions that they were hiding anything from you."

"Okay, we fucking get it!" Hidan snapped. "Annie has strange magical fucking powers, big deal. I would like to know who these Shinobi are that attacked her and why there is a fucking hit list!"

"We're all wondering that," Zana muttered, rolling her eyes. "We didn't know that there were Shinobi here."

"… And it seems that they're attempting to kill you." Kakuzu added.

Annie shook her head. "It's because of me… They're trying to kill all the people closest to me. It's as if… It's a warning."

"A warning about what?" Sam asked. "I feel like there's something missing here… Something we don't know."

"Annie has told us everything she knows," Pain explained. "For now, we must find out for ourselves who these Shinobi are and what their motive is."

"I'll help you," Annie stated, sitting up straight.

"Good-"

"On one condition."

Pain looked at her, his expression blank like it always. "And what is that?"

"I want to be trained to be Shinobi." Annie announced. "That's the condition."

At first the reaction was one of surprise, everyone looking at her in shock. But then Kisame burst out laughing, along with Hidan and Deidara. Even Kakuzu looked amused at what Annie said, and all she could do was try not to throw something at them, or yell at them, or both. The heat started to rise to her cheeks; she clenched her jaw, breathing in and out slowly.

Itachi spoke up then, his voice as cool as ice. "I will train her."

They stopped laughing; Pain's gaze fell on Itachi. "Is that so?"

"Yes!" Annie exclaimed, standing up so fast that she nearly knocked the piano bench over. "I know what you're all thinking… That we're useless, that we're weak. You probably think we can't be strong, but what if being strong is the only choice you have? _That_ is the only choice we have, that I, Zana and Sam have. I won't stand by and do nothing while you guys fight, I want to fight as well, that is what I choose. Do you expect me to just sit around and cry for help all the time? No! That's not what I certainly want, and I'm sure you don't want to come save our asses all the time!"

Zana stood up then as well. "I agree with Annie!"

"I also agree." Sam said calmly, simply raising her hand. "Very much so..."

"Fine." Said Pain, ignoring Annie doing a short victory dance."But since Itachi will be training Annie…"

He let the sentence end there; his last words hanging in the air, letting the rest of the Akatsuki sink them in. Everyone was quiet then, standing or sitting stone still. Hidan looked like he had smelled something nasty and Kisame sat with his arms crossed, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Kisame could train Zana…" Annie suggested.

This suggestion not only made Kisame glower even more, but also made him openly sneer at Annie from across the room. "Now why the hell would I do?"

"Out of all of us, you would be one of the most capable of training one of them, Kisame." Itachi added.

Annie shrugged. "Plus, it will build character."

"But what about me?!" Zana yelled. She had looked absolutely terrified at the idea of being trained by Kisame. Annie had suggested the idea as a joke… Now she felt bad, because they were taking it seriously. "I can't be trained by him!" Zana went on. "He hates me!"

"Better you than me," Annie said coldly. "He hates me way more than he hates you."

At this, Kisame muttered something under his breath, but Annie couldn't hear what he had said.

"Also, it's better than being trained by Hidan," Sam said quietly. "I don't-"

"That will not happen." Konan stated, shooting Hidan a glare. "Anyone want to train Sam?"

There was silence and then Deidara spoke. "Sure, hm."

"You're not going to be a good teacher at all," Sasori pointed out, as if it was an obvious fact.

"Shut up! At least I offered!" Deidara snapped.

Annie sighed, leaning her head against the piano. Pain said something, to which Annie didn't hear, then everyone got up and left the room. Zana and Sam looked over at her as if expecting her to go with them, but she just shook her head.

Pain was the last to leave, but before leaving the room, he paused at the door, turning to Annie. "Annie."

"Yes?" She muttered.

"I'm sorry about this morning," He said, blanly.

"It's fine," Annie shrugged. "Just do me a favor and close the door when you leave."

He nodded, walking out of the room and leaving the door slightly ajar. Annie slowly stood up, running her hand along the smooth, old wood of the Piano. She opened up the top board and the fall board, sitting back down on the piano bench.

Her hands hovered above the keys, staring at the open music book before her. _Chopin_, one of many classic artists and whose music she first learned to play.

Breathing in and then out, she let her fingers dance away on the piano keys. Her body and mind slowly got lost in the music. Closing her eyes, she continued to play.

* * *

Annie didn't know how long she had played for, maybe only a few minutes or a few hours. She was so lost in the music… So lost, that she didn't hear someone come into the room.

"Uh, Annie…"

It was Sam, she stood awkwardly by the door, her hands in her pockets.

"Hey Sam," Annie said. "What's up?"

"Sorry, I know you don't like to be interrupted when playing piano… But we're running low on food, we need to go grocery shopping."

Annie sighed, closing the fall board of the piano. "Right… I forgot about that."

Since there were so many people in the house, Annie decided that they would need to go to Costco. Despite having a job and her own money, her mother had given her some money for the Summer while she was away. She didn't feel that she needed the extra money, but now she was more than thankful for it, because buying food to feed about 14 or more people was no doubt going to be expensive.

And for some reason, when Annie had informed the Akatsuki that they were going to Costco, Deidara insisted on coming. So without any questions, they all got into Annie's Jeep, making their way to Costco. Deidara asked random questions and made remarks about the people he saw on the street.

"What is Costco anyways, hm?" He asked.

Sam, who sat awkwardly beside him, spoke. "It's a place where you can buy stuff in bulk."

"Can you buy weapons in bulk?"

"No…" Annie rolled her eyes. _'What a stupid question.'_

"Why not? That's lame as hell!"

Zana groaned, glaring at him. "It's illegal and even if it was legal, we don't need any more people running around this town stabbing each other!"

"Well, it makes for good entertainment!" Deidara chuckled, leaning forward and smiling at Zana. Sam looked horrified at what he said.

"Maybe instead of watching it actually happening…. You could watch it in a movie," Sam suggested. "Like… Saw, or any other horror movie."

Deidara rolled his eyes at this. "I was being sarcastic, hm. I'm not a psychotic lunatic like Hidan… Speaking of which, he's been a pissy bitch lately… Along with Kisame. You know, Kisame's usually a pretty cool guy to talk to… But for the past two days, he's been super grouchy."

'_Probably because I pissed him off…' _Annie tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, they currently were stopped at a red light and the car beside them was blasting _Eminem_. "By the way Deidara…" She spoke casually. "If we bump into anyone I know… You can't tell them your real name. I'm gonna come up a fake story of your life and you're going to roll with it. Okay?"

Deidara looked at her, confused. "Sure… And what the hell can you come up with Annie?"

"Okay…" Annie explained, thinking of something creative. "You're name's David. You were born in San Jose, California. You are the only child of a middle class family. You aspired to go to art school, but your parents didn't approve of your dreams so moved away from home. You ended up moving to Los Angeles into an apartment with a guy you didn't really know, but decided to trust him. Life was good, you worked at Trader Joe's and some hipster restaurant called Lemon Aid. Then you found out your roommate was a drug dealer and some deal had gone wrong, so some people were out to kill him. So he overdosed on heroine. So, because you were traumatized from the experience, you and your family moved here to start fresh. Accept you live in Burnaby, on the main land. You're just here in the Valley to visit because you have relatives here."

"You know… You didn't have to go into vivid detail, but I think that will work," Sam shrugged, looking at Deidara. "What do you think?"

"Uhh… Sure, that will work, I guess…" Deidara grumbled, leaning back in the seat of the car.

When they got to Costco, Annie managed to get a parking spot near the front of the store to her surprise. It was usually busy here on Monday's especially since it was right across from Crown Isle Resort and by North Island College. As they walked into the store, Deidara was unusually quiet, but he was probably taking in his surroundings. As they strolled through the aisles of Costco, no one seemed to spare them a second glance, except occasionally a few girls would not so subtly check Deidara out, shooting him flirty looks. Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes at them.

"So… Uh… What do we need exactly?" Zana asked, glancing at the empty shopping cart Annie pushed through the store. "We didn't make a grocery list."

"We need food. Lots of food, enough to feed lots of people…" Said Annie. "First, let's buy some meat… Chicken, beef and some shrimp…" _'And let's not think about the fact that my best friend just died… Or that my Dad is in the hospital and probably wants to kill me.'_

She didn't know what it was, but maybe she was still too shocked over Tara's death… Or maybe she had refused to believe that she was dead, hoping that she was alive out there somewhere. But she knew that she couldn't keep her hopes up and she had to face the bitter truth; Tara was dead. And she couldn't avoid her Dad, even though telling him what had happened made her stomach churn, she couldn't run away from her problems.

"The red hair suits you by the way, hm," Deidara pointed out, walking closely beside Annie. So close that their arm's brushed and Annie pulled her arm away. "You kind of look like Sasori now."

Annie raised an eyebrow at his compliment, not sure if she liked being compared to Sasori. Though it was better than being compared to Hidan or Kisame. "It's my natural hair colour," She explained, cooly. "I Was getting bored with the brown hair."

"I was trying to compliment you… You know, since we might be stuck in the same house together then we might as well try to get along." He scowled, crossing his arms. Thankfully, he wore black fingerless gloves to cover the mouths on his hands. "I mean at least I try to initiate conversation unlike Itachi. Also, sorry for nearly killing you."

"Well, you certainly don't like to brood."

At this he smirked. "So that's your type, huh? Quiet, dark haired boys, who brood and are pain in the asses."

'_But Itachi is more than that, isn't he? Minus the part about being sort of an asshole...' _Still, Annie couldn't help but flush. She attempted to turn her face away, but Deidara already saw her blush and chuckled. It was Annie's turn to scowl now. "Are you suggesting that… I like him?"

"Hm… Well you certainly seem to look at him like he's the most finest piece of art you've seen," He shrugged. "Though I'm sure most girls do… Kisame has told me that many girls have attempted to win him over but he doesn't care for them at all… Which is crazy because a guy like that could get any girl he wants. Kisame tries to but I guess girl's don't dig his blue skin."

"… That and the lack of personality." Annie snorted, picking out a chicken and putting into the cart. To her surprise, Deidara laughed at her comment while Sam and Zana talked with each other in silence.

She wasn't sure how long they had spent in Costco, but by the time they were done there, Annie decided they would need to stop at Superstore. Unfortunately Costco didn't sell coffee creamer, and Annie would definitely be need some of that. While Annie and Deidara went into Superstore, Zana and Sam decided to go to Tim Hortons which was just across the parking lot.

"Do you need anything?" Zana asked. "A coffee?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "I always need coffee, get me an iced one please."

"I don't understand how you can drink so much coffee and why you like it so much, hm." Deidara said. "It's disgusting."

"It's only gross when it's black. But I'll drink black coffee if I don't have any creamer," Annie shrugged, grabbing basket by the entrance of the grocery store.

Deidara was one of the most tolerable members of the Akatsuki, but it didn't change the fact that she still felt slightly uncomfortable being alone with him. They shopped in silence but there was something she wanted to ask him, but she knew it wasn't right to.

After Sasori had been killed, Deidara had been paired with Tobi. So did Deidara have any idea of who Tobi actually was? She wanted to ask him, but had a feeling that Deidara would tell Nagato what she said. Then again Deidara seemed like the type who didn't seem to care, so maybe he wouldn't tell him.

So Annie decided she would try to have a normal conversation with him, or attempt to anyways. "So…" She started. "Uh… Why does Tobi wear a mask all the time?"

For a moment Deidara was silent, frowning. "You know… I actually don't know why, hm.'

"Maybe he got in a freak accident which involved something happening to his face… Maybe that's why he wears a mask all the time," Annie suggested. "Maybe that's why?"

"That or maybe he's just really ugly…" Deidara snorted and Annie couldn't help but giggle as well.

Annie sighed, trying to sound confused. "He's strange, he certainly doesn't fit in with the rest of you guys… Like, you all seem to be bad ass, evil powerful ninjas and then there's this guy who acts like a 5 year old child who just wants to play with kittens."

"Ha! Yeah, hm." Deidara laughed. "I don't understand why Leader-sama keeps him around! He's annoying but he's just… Strange."

"Do you think he's _really_ like that though? Or do you think it might just be some kind of act?" Annie asked quietly.

Deidara looked at her then, a suspicious glint in his eyes. "Is that what you think?"

"Well…" Annie murmured. "I know it's none of my business… But I think there's something off about him. Like he's not who he really says he is…" _He's not Tobi, he's Madara Uchiha…_

She almost walked right into him as he abruptly stopped in the middle of the aisle. He didn't look at her, but stared off in the distance, his expression blank. Annie opened her mouth to say something but he moved closer to her, a slight smirk on his face.

"Can you keep a secret?" He whispered, Deidara leaned in so close to her that his long blond hair tickled her shoulders. She shuddered slightly, thinking that this might be a bad idea.

"I can… I will." She whispered back. "I swear on my life that I won't tell anyone else, not even my dog."

"Good, hm. But I agree with you. I think Tobi might not be who he really is… And what else? I think maybe Pain knows… I think him, Konan and Tobi are hiding something from us."

"And what do you think they're hiding?" This was wrong, she knew this was wrong. She was surprised that Deidara was telling her this, but maybe she could trust him as well.

He shrugged, standing straighter. "I don't know… I mean, that's just what makes it worse, hm."

"I suppose so."

"You know…" Deidara muttered. "I don't even know why I told you this, but I won't tell anyone else. And you won't say a word about this either."

She looked him in the eyes, knowing she was getting caught up in what could be a dangerous game. "It's a deal."

* * *

"So… You know after all that's happened, don't be surprised to get having frequent visits from the detectives."

Annie rolled her eyes, forcing herself to not think of Tara but she failed. It only made her feel so much worse, especially when she imagined her best friend's dead, bloody body on the ground of the forest. "Did they find anything at your house?"

"No," Tom explained, keeping his voice low. "Your… Acquaintances did a hell of a good job getting rid of the bodies and the evidence. Plus, they believed the story that Itachi told me to tell them. I don't know how the hell they managed to twist it around to make it look like nothing happened."

"I don't know how they did it either," She said. "That and they saved our asses."

"Okay." Tom said, not hiding the irritation in his voice, it was clearly audible, even over the phone. "I don't want any more excuses. You have to tell your parents what's going on."

Annie only half listened to him as he went on and on about how she should take responsibility of the situation. But it was hard to take responsibility when you were only a normal 17 year old girl, and the leader of the Akatsuki was extremely powerful.

She didn't want to think about this, refused to think about this. Screw responsibilities, she needed a drink. Despite her parent's conservative views, they never restricted her from drinking even though she was under age. Maybe it was because in Europe, the drinking age was mostly around 16 or maybe there were just no drinking ages at all.

To her surprise, the liquor cabinet had been untouched since the Akatsuki's unplanned arrival. There were still quite a few bottles of expensive Whiskey and Rum, along with pleasant wines from Italy and France. There was even Sake as well, it was a good thing that she never mentioned to any of the Akatsuki that it was there or it would probably have been gone by now. Annie's mother had told her not to even touch the fancy European Wines, _especially _the Italian red ones because those were her favourite.

But there were about three of four bottles of them, them being in the Wine shelf which was in the basement. Shrugging to herself, Annie took the one of the Italian red wines along with a wine glass and went outside to sit on the deck.

It was another beautiful day out and no one else was outside, apparently the Akatsuki decided to have another one of their meetings in the office. Sam had gotten a phone call from her mother, demanding her to come home. She had said she would try to come back to Annie's house tonight or tomorrow afternoon, though she couldn't guarantee that would happen. Zana was not forced to come home, but she had insisted on going back to her house to check up on her parents… And her dog and cat as well. Lucky them, they could get away from the Akatsuki and Annie found herself completely jealous of Zana and Sam.

Otis came and sat on the ground beside Annie, who had now opened the Wine, poured it into her glass and was trying her best _not _to chug the whole damn glass. Her father would not be happy that she was drunk while trying to explain her 'Situation' on the phone. Tom's family had gone out for a bit, to her relief… Though she liked Ryan and Charlotte, she didn't like having them around the Akatsuki. But maybe they left for a bit so they wouldn't have to be around them.

Taking a deep breath…. And another one, and then praying that her father would not kill her; she pulled out her cellphone and called him.

Ring…. Ring…. Ring…. Three rings, maybe he would not answer!

'_Hello, you've reached the voicemail of Robert Harker… I'm most likely busy right now, so please leave a message… Or call me again a few times if it's really urgent.'_

"Um, hi Dad…" Annie mumbled. "It's me… Your daughter… Your daughter who is the worst and most terrible daughter you could have. Ever. Well, that's not true. Otis is still alive, in fact he's sitting right beside me and he seems pretty happy despite everything that's been happening…. I really hope you're starting to feel better, I know you probably hate me right now. You probably should. I mean it's not my fault that some magical, ninja hooligans decided to invade my house. Okay, invade is a little dramatic… They fucking forced me to let them stay in our damn house. Sorry… I know you don't like me swearing but it's hard for me not to… P.S. Tara's death, that wasn't my fault. Believe me… Call me back. Bye."

She ended the call, dropping the phone on the small table beside her.

Maybe he would get her voice mail… Well, of course he would. But maybe he wouldn't call her till later. Or maybe he wouldn't call her at all. He was most likely very mad at her, so he probably wasn't really keen on talking to her at the moment.

Before she could sink back into the chair and relax, her phone started ringing. Low and behold, it _was _her father.

She froze, unsure of what to say at first, she answered the call. "Uh… Hello."

"Hello, Annie." Her father spoke calmly, too calmly, a sort of deadly calm. He always called her princess or sweetheart, he only ever called her by her name when he was worried or angry.

Right now, he was most likely angry.

Annie sighed. "So, uh, you got my voice mail?"

"No, I just conveniently called you right after you left a voice mail." He snapped. "Sorry… I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I think you have every right to."

"I do," He muttered. "I'm pretty upset right now, I hope you know that."

"Okay, well will you let me explain what happened, before you yell at me?" Annie pleaded.

For a moment he was quiet, then spoke softly. "Tell me what happened. From the beginning."

* * *

_Genbu, Turtle Island…_

"… The fuck?"

Even Killer B's words didn't break the tense silence that fell between the Shinobi. Everyone of them looked confused, but most of all, worried. Yamato stared down at the ground, his brows furrowed together and Kakashi looked towards Naruto, concern in his eyes.

"So, let me get this straight," Naruto blurted out. "We were sent here to be hidden while everyone else fought in the war… But then Madara Uchiha just magically disappears?"

"… Along with Zetsu," Might Guy added.

"We can't say the same about Kabuto, Anko was the one who last saw him and he just ran away." Kakashi explained.

Naruto shook his head, clearly frustrated. "I can't believe this… I should have been out there."

"It was best that you and B remained here Naruto, having you in the battle would have been far too dangerous. Especially since Madara still needs the eight tails and the nine tails." Said Kakashi.

"Well, he's gone!" Naruto exclaimed. "So we don't have to worry about that!"

Yamato shook his head. "That's what makes the situation more concerning. Why would Madara just disappear? We don't know where he went, and he could appear any minute without any warning. Even though Madara is gone, we must be prepared for a surprise attack."

"So what happens now?" Aoba asked.

"For now… We head back to Konoha," Kakashi said. "The Kages have decided that all the Shinobi will head back to their villages. They will hold a summit before heading back their villages, but if something happens, then all Shinobi will be called to the Land of Iron to prepare for war."

* * *

_July 4__th_

_So I've fucked things up. Really fucked things up._

_Okay, maybe it was not all MY fault… But still, the blame will be pinned on me right?_

_Basically, I explained everything that's happened so far to my Dad. I left out all the shit about me being able to see the future and all that. I even told him that the Akatsuki are criminals! Oh and also I didn't tell him that Hidan tried to kill me and Deidara almost killed me. But he wasn't meaning to, so I can forgive him for that. (Maybe it's also because of the conversation we had earlier today) Basically, Deidara also has suspicions about Tobi as well… But I don't think that's the point._

_I told Dad everything. He didn't really say much when I was explaining to him everything; I mean, shit, there was a lot to explain. He already knew about Tara and he was choked up about her untimely death, that and the death of his friend Matt._

"_This was not my fault!" I exclaimed. "It was not my fault, they're powerful criminals!"_

_Dad was silent for a long time. But then he spoke again, he said that he'll deal with the situation when he comes home. For now, he was going to try relax as much as he could, he still was in the damn hospital after all. _

"_I'm still mad at you, you know…" He muttered._

_I sighed, wanting to rip my goddamn hair out of my head. "It wasn't my fault!"_

"_I know… It's just that a lot of stuff is going on. But you should have never let them in our house in the first place. And you lied to me."_

_It was as if he couldn't blame me, but still a part of him seemed to blame me for what had happened. I fucked things up. Oh and you know what else?_

"_When I get home," He explained, in his stern daddy voice. "You're grounded. No parties, no going out and drinking with your friends, Zana and Sam are not allowed in the house. Oh and no having random boys over so you can just have sex with them. Yeah, I know about that Annie you suck at hiding it. You should have saved yourself for the right one, I thought me and my mom taught you better. Also, you are not allowed to join the girl's rugby team this year."_

_Here comes the slut shaming! I thought. Thank God he didn't dwell further onto that subject because God forbid I can't have sex and enjoy it! But wait, it's even more taboo for me to be vocal about how I enjoy sex, because men can do that but women can't get away with it apparently!_

_So basically… I'm grounded, Sam and Zana are not allowed over but I'll try to persuade Dad to let them come over. So basically I'm house arrest, I can only hang out with Zana at school… I won't be able to hang out with Sam because she goes to Isfeld. Goddamn you Sam for going to a different school._

_I've had too much wine, I'm starting to get a headache. It's about 8:00 pm now and Zana and Tom are just making Dinner. Tom just got home about an hour ago, Laura, Charlotte and Ryan came home a few hours ago. By tomorrow, their home should be all fixed up._

_Yeah, I'm drunk. I'm going to sleep._

* * *

"Annie, dinner's ready!" Zana called from right outside her door, opening it slightly.

Annie groaned, putting her journal on her night table, being careful not to knock her half empty wine glass over. "I'm not hungry Zana. I think I drank a bit too much."

"You drank without me, you bitch!"

Annie shrugged, lazily pointing to the half empty glass. "And this is the last of the bottle of Wine… Some fancy Italian kind, the one my mom told me not to drink.

Without asking, Zana walked over to the bed, took the wine glass and took a slow sip of it. She quirked an eyebrow. "Damn that's good, and I need a drink now."

"GIRL'S DINNER IS READY!" Tom hollered from downstairs.

Sighing, Annie got up and trudged downstairs along with Zana who muttered something under her breath about sharks. She cringed at the sound of forks and knives being banged on the table along with shouts of glee and complaints, of course little children would find that amusing. When she walked into the dining room, the first she noticed that Hidan looked like he was about to murder someone… Probably due to the fact that Ryan and Charlotte were causing such a commotion. Laura only sighed in bewilderment.

"How about we take our food to the guest house instead and eat there?" She suggested in a soothing tone. She looked Annie, who nodded in approval. Laura was not comfortable around the Akatsuki and had tried her best to remain her distance from them, Annie couldn't blame her.

She was aware that her face was flushed from the wine she drank, but Annie could care less. Being tipsy was nice, it made her more relaxed and less tense, though she shouldn't be taking solace in alcohol.

Annie sat at the end of the table, Zana sitting on her right and Pain sitting at the opposite end. Tom stayed and had dinner with them, wanting to talk to Annie but she had little interest in what he had to say. Due to her lack of interest in talking, the Akatsuki members carried on with their own conversations, paying no attention to her and Zana.

It was funny how they treated her like an outcast… When they were outcasts in this world.

A loud _Ding! _Indicated that she had gotten a text message, she cursed herself for not setting her phone to vibrate. Holding her phone under the table, she looked at the screen…

_Wanna hang out tonight? ;) 3_

She smirked, texting back a response.

* * *

_July 4__th__ (2)_

_I think something is going on. I mean, I think the Akatsuki are hiding something from me._

_First of all, I'm not stupid, I would say that I'm smart. (Not trying to be cocky) Second of all, I was only tipsy, so I'm still pretty damn observant, too observant. So during dinner, I probably looked like I had zoned out. I took great interest in that expensive chandelier Mom bought just for the dining room. Damn, it was so sparkly and shiny. My mom has a nice taste in home décor._

_Now I don't know what Hidan's deal is… Maybe he's stupid or maybe he doesn't think before he talks. Maybe it's both, or maybe he just forgot that me and Zana had existed for a moment._

_Hidan: So what are we gonna do about the-_

_Kakuzu: Shut Hidan!_

_I pretended not to hear that. I looked down at my food instead and ate. But Hidan and Kakuzu looked at me and Zana, as if making sure I didn't suspect something…_

_Anyways… I guess I'm not going to worry about it. I have to go meet Bryan… We're going to 'Watch a movie' together._

* * *

The Akatsuki were again, having another meeting in the office. This had confirmed that there was something suspicious going with them, but Annie decided to not intrude.

She stepped out the door, sighing heavily. It was still light out, though the sky was starting to turn pink and orange from the setting sun. Instead of driving, Annie decided to walk instead… Or jog if she needed to. Putting her earbuds in and turning on her music, she made her way out of the front gate of the house.

She didn't look back at the house, but she felt like someone might have been watching her. Annie didn't dare look.

Annie had ended up jogging to Woodcote park, where her and Bryan always met.

They were not exclusive, her and Bryan. At least she didn't really think they were, it was something they had never talked about, a common thing with teenage relationships. She first met him at RCMP camp that past Spring, though they had not talked to each other during the camp, maybe because they were too busy being yelled at by police officers or learning different police scenarios.

He was football player, at Isfeld Secondary. A little rough around the edges but none the less, a nice guy. Bryan was not drop dead gorgeous, but handsome or cute as some girls would say. He was First Nations, or part First nations, with black hair and light brown eyes. He had grown out his beard recently, which Annie admitted had suited him more.

She saw Bryan waiting for her by the fence of the park, he grinned when he saw her and she smiled back.

"That was fast," He commented as she walked towards him, hoping that he would like her hair.

"I'm a good runner, I never got shit by any of the officers at RCMP camp," She scoffed.

He laughed, staring at her as he closed the distance between them. "I like your hair."

"Thanks…" She murmured. He was not much taller than her, she simply put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. Deepening the kiss, he put his hand against her neck, drawing her closer to him, his facial hair tickling the edges of her lips as she kissed him back more passionately, more fiercely.

He drew back, smiling at her. "Have you missed me?"

'_Not you,' _The words whispered in her mind. _'I've just missed this… The kissing, the cuddling, the sex… The idea of someone wanting to be with you, even if they don't love you. Even if they just want you physically.'_

Annie tried to push the thoughts the away, but it was no use. Despite having dated many times before, she had never been in love, she had never found that person who made her feel important, who's kisses would send shivers down her spine. "I have missed you," She spoke. "Things have been crazy lately."

"I'm so sorry about everything that's happened," Bryan whispered, pushing a lock her hair back behind her hair.

"It's okay."

They walked hand in hand back to Bryan's house, which was close to Woodcote park. When Bryan had asked her about the stitches on her forehead, she told him that she went on a run through the forest and fell. Amazingly enough, he believed it, she hoped that he wouldn't ask any other questions about her other injuries so far. As soon as they got to his house, they started watching Iron Man in his living room.

Annie sat between his legs, his arms wrapped around her. He was warm but she couldn't help but shiver as his hand trailed up under her t-shirt and then trailed down again beneath her shorts, making her tense a little at the suggestive touch.

"You know…" He said casually, kissing her neck. "We should go to Music fest this year."

"We'll see…" She sat up, turning around so that she was facing him. Annie took her t-shirt off and dropped it on the floor, sitting on him so that she was straddling his hips. "I might have other plans though."

Bryan didn't say anything at first, only stared at her as he put his hands on her hips. Then he sat up and brushed his lips from her sternum to between her breasts, and then to the hollow of her neck. "Then you should ditch those other plans," He whispered, sliding his hands to the back of her bra. "Music fest will be more fun anyways."

She smirked, letting him undo her bra and tossing it on the floor along with her shirt. They shared a long and passionate kiss, but there was no spark to it. Yet this and kiss and Bryan's touches easily took her mind off the Akatsuki.

* * *

Annie didn't fall asleep; she couldn't find it in herself to sleep at all. She was fine when she was with Bryan, but now he was asleep, and her worries only seemed to increase more and more by the minute. He snored loudly underneath her, they didn't bother going to his bed room, but after having sex he had fallen asleep while she lied on top of him, her head resting against his shoulder.

Quietly, she stood up from the couch, finding her clothes and putting them back on. Without looking back at Bryan, she left.

'_Fuck, it's almost 2:00 AM,' _Looking at her cellphone, she sighed. _'Hopefully it's not a big deal I was out this late by myself.'_

She looked both ways down the street then ran across to the other side; she continued to jog, wanting to get home as quick as she could. Annie stopped on the side walk, looking around the quiet Willemar Street, a man passed by her on his bike, sparing her no second glance. Farther down the street, a black cat sat on the street corner.

The moon was full in the sky, casting an eerie glow on the quiet city.

Annie was about to walk down the street she lived on until she froze mid step. To her right, the few houses here were dark and the horses were in their stables. Her house was just at the end of the street and none of the lights were on. Her heart started racing her chest; slowly she started to walk down the street. _'The Akatsuki should still be in the house, they can't have left.'_

When she walked up the steps to the front door, she slowly turned the door knob. It was unlocked. Annie didn't like this, she didn't like that the door was unlocked and all the lights in the house were off, with not a single sound to be heard. She also didn't like that Zana was gone, she must have left not long after Annie left.

Slowly and quietly she opened the door, stepping into the house and closing the door just as quietly behind her.

"Welcome back."

Annie had never heard that voice before. She turned around slowly, Tobi stood at the stop of the entry way stairs, looking at her as he leaned against the railing.

"O-oh Tobi!" Annie squeaked. "You scared me half to death!"

Tobi didn't say anything; he only started walking down the stairs, towards her.

_Thump, thump, thump… _Annie's heart was racing in her chest at this point; with shaking hands she locked the door.

"I was with my friend… I mean, he's kind of more than a friend… But not really a boyfriend… We were watching Iron Man together. No wait, we didn't watch the movie… We did other things."

Again, Tobi did not speak. He now stood so close in front of Annie that she had pressed herself against the door, avoiding eye contact with him.

Annie pretended to sound fed up. "Look…" She said. "I don't what you want from me-"

Then his hand was under her chin, his fingers digging into her jaw, forcing her head up to look at him.

When she looked at him, she saw his Sharingan glaring down at her. For once, Annie forced herself not to scream.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm not super satisfied with the ending, but oh well... Please read and review!**


	14. The Will Of Fire

**Hello all! I know I don't need to make a comment before every chapter but I just feel like it okay?**

**WARNING: This chapter is pretty violent and maybe a bit screwed up. I'm just warning you. I might end up changing the rating to M, but we'll see...**

**ALSO, I might not do chapter titles anymore because I feel like I suck at coming up with chapter titles. What do you guys think, chapter titles or nah?**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Will Of Fire

"I guess you don't care about that, huh?"

Annie instantly regretted saying those words. Suddenly, his hand grasped her throat and he shoved her against the back of the door with one arm. She chocked, desperately gasping for air as he now held by the throat with one arm.

"Silly girl," He spoke, his voice was deeper. The cheerfulness had drained from it. "Foolish, always messing with the wrong people."

"Ah… L-let… Me…" Annie gasped, attempting to claw at Tobi's… No, Madara's wrist, but it had no effect on him.

Grunting, he released his hand from her throat and she slid to the floor, breathing heavily. "You just had to pull a Darth Vader, didn't you?"

He cocked his head, looking at her. "Even in your current situation… You still have to be sarcastic."

"I do what I want." Annie stood up, glaring at him. "What do you want from me?"

"Ah, now isn't that a question. I think you know that well, but you continue to deny that along with this fake life you live." Madara said. He walked around her, his Sharingan watching her like a hawk, waiting for her to do or say something wrong. He was the predator and she was the prey.

'_Fake life…?' _What did he mean by that? This was Madara Uchiha, he knew nothing about Annie.

He spoke again, more softly. "You know who I am, Annie."

"You're… Madara Uchiha."

"Ah," He chuckled. "That's right, and who are you?"

Annie froze, unsure of what to say. "I… I'm Annie Harker," She paused. "I've always been Annie Harker."

"That's what you think… That's what you believe," He yawned, clearly not satisfied with Annie's answer. "I have my theories though."

'_You're playing a dangerous game…' _A voice whispers in her mind. _'And now you're caught… So what do you do now?' _ Deidara's face flashed before her eyes and she wanted to scream. He must have said something, how else would Madara suspect her? Despite her fear, she stepped closer to him. "I don't want to play games."

"No," He said. "Neither do I… I think things will work out best if we're honest with each other."

He took a seat on the bottom of the stairs, resting his chin on his interlaced hands. It was probably meant to be a casual gesture, but Annie stood stone still, her heart beating like a wild drum.

Madara patted the empty spot beside him. "You look a little tense… Why don't you sit down?"

All Annie could do was nod, slowly walking towards him. The way he stared at her made her skin crawl, how his eye seemed to watch every one of her movements. She sat down beside him, trying her best to not to sit too close to him.

Instead of starting at the floor, Annie looked at him, trying not to look scared. But she almost shrank away as he reached a hand towards her, holding a strand of her hair and running his gloved fingers down it.

"Such lovely hair," He murmured.

Annie winced. "Thanks… I didn't say you could touch it."

"In the Shinobi world, we have clans," He continued, ignoring her comment. "Of course, you know of the Uchiha clan… But have you heard of the Uzumaki clan?"

'_Uzumaki… Naruto Uzumaki.' _Annie thought, then whispered, "That's Naruto's last name…"

Madara chuckles, taking his hand away from her hair. "Yes, that is correct. His mother was an Uzumaki… They're well known for their red hair and their incredibly strong life forces…"

"So if the Uzumaki are known for that…" Annie snapped. "Then the Uchiha are best known for their black emo hair and lack of emotions." _'Except for Itachi… Actually no, I won't even think about him right now.'_

Madara was silent, still staring intently at Annie. He cupped his hand under her chin again, running his thumb along her jaw. Still she only glared daggers at him, her jaw clenched. "Oh my, now what am I going to do about your attitude?" He tisks. "You are very stubborn."

Annie hissed. "You will _not_ do anything to me."

"Not unless… You answer one question for me." He says, not releasing his hand from her face.

"Okay. Ask me."

Madara pulls his hand away from her. "Kisame is one of my most loyal members…" He starts. "Of course, I am glad he saved your life that night. Because of your unique talent, your life is precious to us… To me. But I would like to know… What did you do to that Shinobi who was trying to kill you?"

The moment he says those words, Annie could feel nothing but dread. She remembered clearly what happened that night… That strange spark, the surge of power and that gold glowing chain… _"You're one of us," _The man had said, completely awestruck. _"A Shinobi…"_

Then Kisame had saved her and she remembered the way he had brutally killed that man. But had Kisame seen what she had done? Maybe that's why he was saying her name, so he could ask her. But he could as easily torture the question out of her as well.

"I… Don't… I don't remember, I d-don't know," Was all Annie could say… More like stammer. "I was so scared… I thought he was going to kill me… And all I could do was close my eyes and I just threw my arms out… Then I opened my eyes and his katana was on the ground… And… And he just looked so stunned."

She didn't dare look at him, but Madara is quiet. He speaks again, his voice smooth. "Is that so."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Annie trembled in fear and anticipation, surely he didn't believe her. Now he would punish her.

Silently, he stood up, turning towards her. He takes her hand; pulling her up till she's standing, daring not to speak. Madara pulls her closer towards him, till she is just inches away from him. Annie opens her mouth to protest, to say something but then the room starts spinning and Madara pins her against him. It's as if for a second, they're floating but then the house disappears and then they are in the forest.

"Teleportation…" Annie muttered, attempting to back away from him but he held her by her wrist. "N-nice."

He shakes his head, chuckling darkly. "You should be quiet."

"Why should I?" She snapped.

"Because they'll hear us."

As if on cue, a voice cried out through the woods, but then was quickly silenced. Madara made his way to where the voice came from, dragging Annie behind her who tried her best not to follow but failed. His grip on her wrist was like iron and he walked so fast that Annie had to jog so that she wouldn't end up being dragged in the dirt, not that he would care if he did.

They were nearing the old shack, Annie could see dark figures gathered in the clearing and she stiffened. A feeling of dread filled her core, chilling her to the bone but she couldn't escape Madara. They stopped a few feet away from the clearing, hidden behind the trees and bushes so that whoever was there couldn't see them.

"This is what happens to people who lie to us," Madara whispered, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "Watch."

Annie had no other choice but to. She forced herself to look ahead and the first thing she laid her eyes on were two unfamiliar faces, Shinobi. A man and woman, who looked no older than 40, kneeling on the ground. Their clothes were dirty and torn and their faces were smeared with blood. The terror was evident in their eyes, their bodies trembling with fear.

Kisame and Itachi stood in front of them, the rest of the Akatsuki standing in a semi-circle around the two unknown shinobis. Even from afar, Annie could see Hidan's maniacal grin at the sight of the beaten ninjas. But the two Ninja's didn't shrink away from him, they looked in fear at Itachi who looked back them with a cold stare.

'_No…' _She wanted to scream. _'No, he wouldn't… Itachi wouldn't do this…' _Annie opened her mouth to scream, but Madara clamped his hand over it, wrapping his left arm around her to hold her against him.

"Watch." He hissed and Annie silently obeyed.

Pain walked towards the two Shinobi, Konan following him silently. Then the man on the ground spoke. "She was not one of us!" He points to the woman beside him. "I was sent to kill her but s_he _tried to stop us! She was a spy!"

"What use is this information?" Pain says coldly. "I want to know who you are and who your leader is…"

"I-I… I don't know."

"Very well," Pain turns to Itachi, who only stands stone still. "Go ahead."

'_He's going to use the Sharingan to torture him…' _Annie is frozen in fear. Not only because of what Itachi was about to do but also because she had recognized the man's voice he was about to torture. It was the man that had tried to kill her, who she _thought _Kisame had killed.

Madara chuckles darkly, as if he has read her thoughts. "This is one of the many powers of Sharingan, watch and learn Annie."

Kisame moves behind the man and grabs him by his hair, forcing his head up. He then shoves something into the Shinobi's mouth. _'A gag…' _He tries desperately to free himself from Kisame's grasp, but it is useless, Kisame is strong. Then Itachi is standing in front of him and the man has no choice but to look at him.

His scream is muffled, Annie whimpers at the sound and Kisame grins.

It keeps going on like that, she doesn't know how long it lasts but each muffled scream becomes worse and worse. It's agonizing, yet Annie is forced to watch, trying not scream herself. Her hand is around Madara's wrist, her nails digging into it as her body is racked with sobs. But she tries to fight back the tears, she can't afford to look weak in front of Madara.

The tortured man slumps forward onto the ground, but he has no time to recover. Kisame forces him back, ripping the gag out of his mouth. "Tell us!" He growls.

"Sh-s… She is strong…" Is all that he manages to whimper at first. "Stronger than she knows."

Sasori speaks this time, his voice soft. "Who is?"

"Annie…" The man mutters. "She is a threat… We were sent to kill her… She is more powerful than she knows, she is a threat to us. 'She has to be annihilated' they told me that, they told us to destroy her no matter what."

"NO!" The woman cries. "She can't die-"

"SHUT UP!" Kisame snaps. _'He's going to ask him what I did…' _Annie thought. _'And he will have to tell him.'_

"That was not the information we wanted to know," Itachi said coldly. "Who is your leader, who do you work for?"

The man and the woman are silent, staring at the ground while the Akatsuki waited for an answer. "No one knows," The man says. "And that's the truth; no one knows who it is that leads us. Their identity is kept secret, we received orders from others in our organization… But they have their own secrets. No one believes that our leader exists; they don't want to be known… It seems that they go to great lengths to protect her identity... She... She..."

"Her, hm?" Deidara seems intrigued now.

"I've only heard rumours of her. Some call her... Her... T-tennin... A_-_apparently she is powerful… But no one knows her real name… Some thinks that she's a ghost, or an _Obake, _a shape shifter… They believe she disguises herself as other Shinobi, giving orders… So that no one knows who she really is…" The man shakes his head. "This is all I know… That is all I can tell you.

The woman speaks next, her voice strong. "Even as a spy, it was hard for me to find information… But I have heard that… Tennin or whoever she really is was obsessed with finding a certain person, someone powerful, someone who could help her… But then she decided it was best to kill her."

"You're fucking full of shit!" Hidan snapped. "I'll rip your goddamn eyes out, bitch!"

"Then do it… _Hidan!_" The woman hissed, baring her teeth. At Hidan's shocked expression, she chuckled. "You really think that we're stupid? We know who you are. You're the Akatsuki."

Kakuzu observed the two hostages, then spoke. "How do you know this? How is it even possible that you know this?"

"Certain sources… But you shouldn't be surprised that you're so well known. Since you go around slaughtering innocent people," She paused, looking around at the Akatsuki with a disgusted expression on her face. "Torturing people, for Religion, money… Power… Whatever the hell you want. And now you've taken a young girl hostage, you'll destroy her!"

"I will not hurt her." Pain spoke.

The woman growled. "She will not let you control her, I'll warn them. She'll warn everyone about you."

"No. I think she very well knows the consequences about that…" At this Madara chuckled softly. "… Now tell us, who sent you to spy on this… Organization."

"If I did, I will die…" She opens her, mouth sticking her tongue out to reveal a strange black design on it. "I'm sure you've seen this before… It's a cursed seal… Not only will it prevent me from telling you information but it will kill me as well, if I _try _to say too much."

"Was the one who sent you also the one who put that seal on you?" Itachi asked.

Kisame who had been deadly silent, then knelt in front of the male hostage and forced his mouth open, looking inside. "He has one as well." He growled.

"Quite interesting, isn't it?" Madara whispered into Annie's ear. "Those are quite often used in the Shinobi world… But I have never seen one that could kill the person withholding the information."

Annie shuddered. "Are you going to put one of those on me? Because I hate to break it to you, but it's not going to make me shut up forever."

"I have other ways of making you stay quiet." Madara hissed.

"Leader-sama," Kisame said. "May I…?"

"Go ahead." Spoke Pain.

Kisame smirked, pulling a kunai knife out of his pouch, pressing the point of it against the man's mouth. "Open your mouth," He growled. "And don't scream… Or I'll make it even worse for you."

"N-no… Please don't." He whimpered, but Kisame dug his nails into his chin, forcing his mouth open.

Annie tried to look away, but Madara held her still. _'PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME WATCH THIS,' _She wanted to scream.

"I must warn you…" Madara explained. "This could get quite messy."

What happened next was almost too horrifying to put into words. Annie did not scream, but had gone numb from fear, or maybe she was too shocked at what she was seeing. Kisame had pried the man's tongue out of his mouth; he couldn't even scream as he then slowly cut it out, blood dripping down the corners of his mouth, a sick gurgling noise escaping his lips.

Hidan was laughing, clearly enjoying what Kisame was doing to the man. The woman beside him only watched in fear, as Itachi stood by watching, his face blank of emotion. It wasn't over; Kisame then moved his hands back to the man's face, pressing his thumbs onto his eyes.

The woman whimpered and tried to look away, but Itachi grabbed her by her hair and forced her to watch. Blood pooled and dripped from beneath Kisame's fingers, Annie closed her eyes just as she heard the soft crunch of his skull being crushed beneath his hands.

Hidan grinned, his pink eyes glittering with excitement. "Can I kill the bitch next?"

* * *

Zana's eyes flew open; all she could see at first was darkness. But as her eyes adjusted, she could see the moon shine slivers through the shutters of window blinds, the breeze causing them to sway slightly.

_Thump… Thump… _Her heart raced, beating fast like a drum. But why? She must have had some terrible nightmare, maybe that's why she woke up. She didn't remember anything terrible happening in her dream, but she dreamt of a familiar face… The sharp teeth, blue skin and cruel personality… Kisame.

Why was she dreaming of _him? _Perhaps that's why she woke up so suddenly, because he was in her dreams; because he was the last person she wanted in her dreams. Zana shuddered, and it was definitely not because of the breeze blowing through her open window. She pulled back the sheets and blanket from her sweat drenched body, she was too warm.

She rolled over to lie on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Zana didn't have a nightmare, but she couldn't help but feel that something terrible was about to happen.

* * *

Blood. There was so much blood. Annie had never seen so much in her life.

She was surprised that she hadn't thrown up yet, maybe she could attempt to turn around and throw up on Madara instead. He would not appreciate it, but at this point she did not care.

"**Too bad… It will be over soon." **She didn't know when Zetsu had appeared beside them, but he looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Hidan's enjoying himself too much." White Zetsu spoke, then looked at Annie. "Not very pleasant, is it?"

Annie only shook her head, she was aware that there were black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy. But that was the least of her problem. In the clearing, Hidan stood in Jashin symbol, his body now taking on a grim reaper appearance. He was soaked in blood, and his intestines spilled from his cut open belly, there were many other puncture wounds in his body and the woman's looked imitated every injury he inflicted on himself.

"That's disgusting," Kakuzu snarled. "Now I'm going to have stitch your belly closed after…"

Hidan snapped back at him. "Shut the fuck up dickhead, this is a sacred ritual."

'_How is she still alive?' _The woman had a gag which prevented her from screaming, but the pain was evident on her was not right, to let her die this way, slowly and painfully. _'Just kill her… End her suffering.'_

"I think you've seen enough," Madara said quietly. "I expect you'll take care of the bodies, Zetsu."

Black Zetsu smiled. **"Of course." **

"What a mess…" Grumbled White Zetsu.

The world spun; the trees and ground all blurring together. Annie felt dizzier than before, she couldn't contain her nausea, the teleporting only made her sickness worse. Time seemed to slow down, and now they were back at her house, in her bedroom. Madara didn't hold her back as she bolted to the bathroom, dropping down in front of the toilet and vomiting into the porcelain bowl. She gasped for air, her vision blurry from tears as she threw up again and again, until all she could do was to try not to cry. She reached her hand up to grab some toilet paper, wiping her mouth with it and throwing it into the toilet. Just as she flushed the toilet, a hand stroked her back, causing her to seize up from the unwelcome touch.

"Get… Away… From… Me…" She snarled, refusing to look at Madara. "You monster!"

He patted her back, as if he was her friend and not her enemy. "Now, now. I know that was terrible, but I think you might have to get used to it. Consider that a warning."

"Forcing me to watch that? Was that your warning?" She choked. "Why?"

"Oh, Annie… That's what happens when someone lies to people like us. I think you have great potential, and like I said before, it would be best if we're honest with each other."

Annie froze. "You want me on your side."

"Of course," Madara chuckled. "You are more powerful than you know. You could be a great benefit to me and my goals, and in due time, I think you will agree as well. Here's my theory Annie; I think your parents are hiding something from you, something big. Perhaps you're not who you think you are, you're not Annie Harker, you're someone else."

"Maybe, but I refuse to believe that…"

Madara sighed. "Even if you do refuse to believe it… I can help you… Help you to discover who you really are and what you're capable of doing."

"Nice offer," Annie said dryly. "But what for? You're offering me this, but it comes with a price."

"Unfortunately, it does," He said, more softly, his hand still on her back. "As Shinobi, we sometimes have to make painful sacrifices. So you must tell me everything about your visions… You will train under Itachi, but you will also train under me. Also, about Zana and Sam…"

For a moment, her heart seemed to stop beating, her body growing cold. "What about them?"

"I want you to kill them. And if you don't, I'll have Kisame or Itachi do it instead."

She turned around slowly, and looked at him, trying her best to not look weak, to look strong instead. "I am not your pawn. I will not kneel for you or anyone and you will not hurt my friends!"

"Do you want them to end up like Tara?" Madara hissed, grabbing Annie by the wrist.

"It was you…" Annie's body shook with anger. "You… You killed her, didn't you?"

"No, I wasn't the one who murdered her."

"YOU'RE A FUCKING LIAR!" She roared, balling her right fist and swinging it directly at Madara's face.

His hand shot up, blocking her punch. His hand tightened around her's, pain shooting through it and up her arm. She cried out, but then something happened that made Annie gasp in surprise.

Lightning sparked from beneath her hand and shot up Madara's arm, striking him in the chest. The force of it had sent him flying out of the bathroom and onto the bedroom floor, his whole body twitching from the sudden attack. But it wasn't Annie who had done that, instead she looked at the ring on her finger.

It seemed to glow with a violet aura, sparks shooting from the mouth of the golden dragon. Its eyes seemed to glow as well, but then faded away, along with the sparks of lightening. _'There's no way… Why does this keep happening?' _

Annie walked into the bedroom, looking down at Madara who had recovered from the attack. "Your ring…" He murmured, reaching a hand towards her. "Give it to me."

"No!" Annie snarled. "It's mine, you will not have it."

He sighed, standing up and looking at her. Annie braced herself for an attack but he only shook his head, clenching and un-clenching his hand. Then he stepped towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll save this for another time," He said. "For now, you will not tell anyone about what happened tonight. Or else…"

The black marks in his Sharingan spun, drawing Annie closer. She couldn't move, and then everything went black.

It was exactly how it happened earlier, Hidan stood in the Jashin symbol, his stake raised in the air. But instead of the woman being in front of him, it was Annie that knelt in front of him instead. He smiled, his eyes wild with mischief and excitement. On either side of him, stood Kisame and Itachi.

He plunged the stake into his ribs, slowing pushing it further into him as moan of pleasure escaped his lips. His eyes rolled back into his head but Annie screamed, now tasting blood in her mouth as an excruciating pain shot through her ribs. Again and again, Hidan thrust the stake into him, blooding pouring down his black and white skin, shrieking with laughter at Annie's pain.

Then it stopped. Annie stared back at Madara, unable to speak. Her body had seemed to lose all of its strength, but Madara pulled her towards him before she could fall.

"I trust you won't say anything now, will you?" He whispered, but Annie couldn't find it in herself to speak.

Gently, he picked her up and laid her down on the bed. For a moment he sat there on the side of the bed, looking at her. "I'm sorry about that. But it wasn't the worse I could do. Take a shower and then sleep, it will take time, but you will recover from what happened tonight."

Annie didn't respond, she only stared up at the ceiling. Then Madara caressed her cheek with his thumb, brushing a tear away, without looking at her again, he vanished, leaving her in the darkness of her room.

* * *

Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki watched as Zetsu consumed the bodies of the two hostages they had killed. It was not a lovely sight, Itachi wanted to turn away from the sight, but he looked anyways.

"You smell like shit," Kakuzu growled to Hidan. He had finished stitching his belly closed, but now his hands were covered in blood. "You are not going into the house like this."

Hidan only grinned. "It was fucking worth it though!"

"What was?"

They turned to see Tobi standing at the edge of the clearing, his head cocked to the side, looking at Hidan and the rest of them curiously.

"Where the hell were you, un?" Deidara growled.

"Out and about," Tobi shrugged. "I don't like Hidan's sadistic rituals and torture as well… I have a weak stomach!"

"Maybe I should fucking sacrifice you next!" Hidan snarled. "Annie would be my first option, but I'm sure Jashin would love to see you bleed at my feet!"

"No one else is being sacrificed or killed." Pain ordered, looking at Hidan. "Wash the blood off before you go into the house, Annie can't know about what happened."

"She just came home," Tobi said. "I think she's asleep now."

"And Zana?" Konan asked.

Tobi shook his head. "She's not there, must have went back to her house."

"So, what now?" Kisame asked. "Do we question Annie again, try to see if she knows anything else?"

Pain's eyes flickered to Itachi, but then he looked back at Kisame. "No. She might not know anything else."

"You know…" Deidara started. "I get she's not a Shinobi, but I think the way we've been trying to get answers from her is… Uh… Not working well enough. Perhaps we should try being a little more forceful, hm?

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Sasori said, narrowing his eyes at the ex-Iwagakure ninja.

"I mean, why can't _Itachi_ over here use his Sharingan on her?" Deidara said his name with as much venom in his voice as possible. "We wouldn't be wasting our time on shit like this if he did, hm."

For a moment every one of them was silent, Itachi did not react to Deidara's statement. But Pain looked at him sharply, his jaw clenched. "We will not torture or hurt Annie in any way. And if any of you do, I will not hesitate to kill you. _Slowly_. The same goes for Zana and Sam, you will not hurt them or attempt to kill them."

Tobi shook his head. "That's good. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Annie-chan, I can't imagine how she would react to one of us torturing her."

* * *

She could not sleep.

Annie laid awake in her bed, crying. She held the panda plushie that her Dad got her for her 14th birthday; Panda's were her favourite animals. She bit down on it, in hopes that it would prevent her from screaming.

Trembling, she stood up and walked to the washroom, turning the light on. Grabbing a makeup remover wipe, she rubbed off the dried mascara and makeup from her face, sniffling as she did and trying to avoid the stitches on her forehead. Then she stripped off her clothes, along with her bandages and stepped into the shower, turning the water on.

She tried to relish the warm water cleansing her body, but it did not distract her from her thoughts. Turning the hot water off completely, she bit back a yell as the cold water prickled her skin like ice, but at least it distracted her from the pain.

She could hear voices. The Akatsuki were back, Annie's body froze in fear.

As quickly as she could, she turned off the shower water, stepping out and grabbing a towel. Annie walked quietly to her closet, pulling out her pajamas and putting them on. Then she jumped onto her bed, pulling the covers over herself and lying down so that her back was to the door.

A knock came at her door, softly at first and then louder.

'_They know… They know that I saw…' _She clutched her panda plush to her chest, praying that whoever was knocking wouldn't enter her room.

The door opened, followed by footsteps. "Annie?" It was Konan.

"What?" She snapped.

"I'm sorry," Konan said softly from the doorway. "Were you trying to sleep?"

Annie wanted to scream, she couldn't sleep. Not after what happened tonight. "Leave me alone."

Without another word, Konan left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

The blinds had been pulled up from Zana's bedroom window, the moonlight shining onto her sleeping figure. For a moment, Kisame sat there on the window ledge, staring at her.

Due to Summer heat, she wore only a sports bra and thin shorts. The sight had at first made the S-class criminal flush, but then he remembered that she was only 17, just a kid, a teenage girl.

And he was going to kill her.

As he drew a kunai out, Zana moaned and turned over so that she was facing him. Her short brown hair was messy and drool dribbled from the corner of her mouth, in that moment she looked innocent. She was only a child, an innocent child. She had committed no crime, killed no man, yet Kisame would still kill her. An innocent, 17 year old girl.

After killing the two Shinobis that had attempted to kill Annie, Madara approached him. He asked him to kill Zana and then Sam, he didn't say why but he knew it must have been important. But as Madara walked away, Kisame felt more restless than before. There was still blood on his hands, and he stared down at them, wondering if he could do it.

It was the first time in a long time he had questioned himself. To ask himself if he could really take the life of two 17 year old girls. It was not because Madara didn't say why he wanted them dead, but Kisame had a feeling he was hiding something from him. His heart beat faster in his chest and he suppressed a growl, _what_ was holding him back?

Silently, he stepped into the room, making his way over to her bed. She did not stir when he stopped at the edge of her bed, holding his kunai towards her. To his annoyance, his hands trembled as he tried to press the kunai to the soft skin of her throat. But his hand wouldn't move, it was as if his body refused to move and he wanted to scream. _'It's just two lives, two worthless lives.'_

He could hear each of Zana's breaths; see the sweat roll down her bare skin and in between her breasts. For a moment, her body stiffened, but still, Kisame couldn't move.

'_It seems in the end… I'm not so bad after all.'_

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the shadow at the window, but he couldn't miss the silver blade of the Katana that was soon at his throat. It glimmered in the moonlight, he saw his reflection and the owner's reflection in the blade, Kisame stiffened turning his head towards them.

"Itachi."

He stared back him, his Sharingan activated and his face blank. Without a word, Kisame put the kunai back in his pouch, shaking his head as if to say _'I won't do it. I won't kill them.' _Zana moaned again, tossing in her sleep.

For moment, the two S-class ninjas locked eyes, as if trying to communicate without saying anything at all. Itachi nodded his head towards the window, Kisame nodded, walking towards it just as Zana started waking up.

* * *

When Zana woke up this time, she almost screamed as she opened her eyes.

Standing by her bed, Itachi stared down at her. His black eyes seemed to study her and in his hand he held a katana. Before Zana could scream, he clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't." He whispered. "I won't hurt you."

She nodded her head but then blushed, realizing she was pretty much half naked. She pulled the covers over herself, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"Pain told me to come here to make sure you're okay," Itachi explained, smoothly. "We don't want any other Shinobi trying to hurt you, so I was sent here in case there… Was trouble."

"Oh…" Was all Zana could manage to say. "Thank you… Itachi."

He didn't say anything at all, so Zana continued to talk. "I mean, I'd rather have you here to watch over me than Kisame… I had a dream about him, I don't know why… This is so strange."

Itachi chuckled softly, to Zana's surprise, but then he frowned, staring out the open window.

* * *

Hours passed, Annie tried to sleep, and she forced herself to sleep. But no matter what, she couldn't fall asleep.

But at around 5:15 AM, her eyelids started to feel heavy. Then not long after, she drifted off to sleep.

_There was fire. Fire everywhere, then the fire cleared and that's when everything seemed to happen all at once._

_Two boys stood by a river, standing a good distance from each other. One's hair was black and he had coal black eyes, the other boy had brown hair cut into a bowl cut, his brown eyes filled with sadness._

_Now, they were older and they faced each other again. But it wasn't by the river, it was on the battlefield. They were men now, and the black haired man wore the Uchiha crest on his back, his black hair longer. The brown haired man wore red armour and a head band with another familiar crest on it. He was from the Senju clan._

_They were Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju._

_She watched as they battled, from when they were just boys to now. Annie stood in the midst of the battle, watching as Senju and Uchiha collided. For years it was like this, for years they fought, waged war against each other._

_Just before her stood a man in blue armour, his white hair and red facial marking a stark contrast against the darkness around her. He was there one second then gone the next, his katana delivering a fatal blow against an opposing Uchiha. _

_A monstrous fox loomed over her, it's nine tails swishing back and forth. Madara and Hashirama fought a deadly dance, they fought and fought, clashing against each other with no intent of giving up._

_The fox started to disappear, then it was gone. A woman with red hair held up in two buns stood where the fox was before, golden chains escaping her body. Annie reached out to her but then she started to fade._

_Then there was nothing but darkness. She stood in a tunnel, tree roots sticking out from the walls, which beckoned her to move forward. Voices called to her, beckoning for her to come to then. __Annie walked, but then she was running, her feet carrying her towards the darkness against the cool dirt. Ghosts. There were ghosts calling for her._

_She entered a room, and then a blazing light shone and then evaporated, illuminating her surroundings. Larger tree roots snaked along the roof, reaching down the walls and down to the floor. On the wall opposite of her, hung a katana, under it were a few boxes marked with strange seals. They were along the wall as well, they were powerful, and she could feel their power down to her bones._

_They were calling for her. _

_From the shadows they emerged; Hashirama, Mito, and Tobirama… Ashina Uzumaki… They walked towards her and all Annie could do was stand still, watching them as they approached her. _

"_Ghosts…" She whispered. "Ghosts from the past… Have you come to haunt me?"_

_At first they didn't say anything, but then they all spoke at once. Their voices were hushed, as if the words were sacred._

"_You are more powerful than you know."_

_Annie shook her head. "I don't understand… I don't understand what I'm capable of."_

_Hashirama stepped closer to her, his voice soft. "You must find out for yourself."_

"_I- I can't…" She cried. "Please help me to understand… I don't know what to do."_

"_You are strong…" He speaks again. "You can help stop the war, stop the approaching darkness."_

"_Darkness?" She trembled at his words. "Do you mean… Madara?"_

"_It is not just Madara," Mito speaks. "It is many others as well. They have come to rage war, they have come for blood. They will set fire to the world and destroy it, till there is nothing left but darkness. They seek revenge for losses from long ago and they will not stop."_

_Annie fell to the ground, looking up at them in disbelief. "I… I have seen so many things… But I have not seen this."_

"_Because you cannot control it. What is coming, it is powerful… It is beyond anyone's control, but you have the power to do good, you have the power to change it all, to stop the darkness."_

"_But I'm not the child of prophecy!" Annie exclaimed. "I'm just a normal girl… Oh Christ, this totally sounds like something from a typical, dystopian, YA novel. I'm not a hero… I'm not a heroine…"_

"_It is true, you are not the child of prophecy, the 'Yogen no k'," Hashirama murmurs. He leans down in front of Annie, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But you are the 'Yogen sha' you are the prophet. You are the heiress of fire, the heir of the will of fire…"_

_Annie blinked. "The Will of Fire?" _

"_Those who have the Will of Fire believe that love is the key to piece, we Konoha Shinobi cherish and fight to protect the village… It has been carried from generation to generation, and you have inherited it Annie." Hashirama explained. "You, Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi Uchiha and many others carry it… The Will of Fire is what you will give you strength to carry on, to fight and to protect the ones you love."_

"_I… I would do anything," Annie whispered. "I would do anything to protect my friends and family… Just tell me… How I can uncover my true potential."_

_Hashirama stood up, smiling sadly. "Unfortunately, I cannot help you with that. You must find out on your own."_

"_You are a Shinobi." Tobirama explains. "You have the strength to discover what your true potential is. With the right people to help you, you will understand."_

_They all turned around, starting to walk away… No, they were fading. Annie reached out towards them. "Please! Help me!"_

"_Be strong, Annie…" Mito whispered. "Be strong and don't stop fighting…"_

She almost fell out of her bed as Annie awoke with a gasp, a cry escaping her throat. _'Prophet… Heiress of Fire… Heir of the will of fire…' _The words echoed in her brain, almost consuming her.

She gasped as the door opened and someone walked into the room, it was Tom. He walked towards her bed, sitting on the edge and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Annie! Are you alright?!"

"I-I…" She stammered. "What happened?"

"You were screaming," Tom murmured, stroking her back. "I was downstairs with the... The Akatsuki and I heard you scream. Did you have a nightmare?"

"I guess… I did…" Annie lied, shuddering slightly. "What time is it?"

Tom relaxed a bit. "It's 7:00 AM… And you have work today, at 12:00 AM."

"Ah… Fuck." Annie murmured. "Well, I'm not feeling good. So I might have to call in."

"Oh…" Tom murmured. "Do you want me to bring you breakfast then?"

"Yeah, I was puking last night… And I'm still not feeling so hot." Annie explained, sitting back against the pillows. She hoped that Tom would believe her lie. "Maybe some tea as well. Green tea and water."

"You do look quite pale," He put a hand on her forehead. "And you're burning up. I'll be back with your breakfast."

"Just don't bring me too much food," Annie called out to him, as he left the room. "Because if I have too much food, than I might throw it up."

* * *

"So let me get this straight…" Sam said. "You woke up with Itachi in your room?"

Zana sighed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't know why she woke up so early but Sam happened to be up early as well. Maybe they both sensed something was wrong. "Yes… I did. But it was strange. He was just standing there watching me sleep… I don't know. I didn't mind it because he's hot… But it's still creepy."

"Maybe he was fascinated by your snoring…" Sam suggested, shifting in the car seat. They turned on Annie's road, slowing down a bit as they approached the house.

"Yeah… But I think Annie likes him…" Zana murmured, ignoring Sam's attempt at a sarcastic comment. Sam was not the type to be sarcastic, she was more straight forward, more blunt than Zana and Annie.

Sam shook her head. "Not in that way. I think she has enough sense to know that she shouldn't get attached to a criminal."

They pulled into the drive way of her house, parking the car beside Annie's jeep. Zana stopped the car, but then just sat there staring out the window, her eyebrows furrowed. Speaking more softly, Sam asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Zana shrugged, unbuckling her seat belt. "I just feel things are becoming stranger and stranger everyday."

Sam sighed. "From here on out, I don't think it's going to get any better…"

* * *

**Oh man this was a pretty long chapter... And I felt like a lot happened. I like how this chapter turned out, please read and review and let me know your thoughts!**


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